Circumstance
by kikyiou666
Summary: ATTENTIONCHAPTER 10 NOW UP!Keiko has been sold to a ruthless demon in a human slave ring Yusuke isn't there to save her, so who will? Her life changes forever as she struggles with her feelings with her rescuer. HieiKeiko
1. Lost

            **AUTHORS NOTES: I might as well get the ugly truth out of the way-this IS my first attempt at a fanfic. There. I said it. Are you happy now? ^_^**

Normally I would leave the writing up to the people who can actually write well, but I had all these annoying little ideas that would Beat on my head at night and wouldn't leave me alone. I even considered having someone else write my stories for me, but apparently no one likes the idea of writing it exactly how I want it. Go figure. 

Anyways, I would appreciate feedback and reviews, even flames, as long as there constructive. A hell, your not going to listen to anyway.  ^_-

            Keiko groaned as she painfully entered consciousness. Her head was throbbing in a steady rhythm that caused spots of light to dance behind her eyes.

            Gingerly she tried to open them, but an obscenely bright light instantly sent sharp pangs through her skull and she quickly shut her eyes again in defense.

            Ugh..this must be… what a hangover feels like….

            Too bad… I don't drink…do I?

            Keiko frowned slightly.  Her thoughts were like a giant cotton ball in her head, thick and hard to pick through clearly.

            Feeling the light continue to beat down through her closed lids, Keiko grumbled pitifully. "Taki, turn off the light…it hurts." 

            Silence was the only thing that responded.

            Looked like if she wanted it off, she would have to get off her lazy butt and turn it off.

            Greeaat.

            Resigned, Keiko moved to sit up and found that she could only barely lift her head. The rest of her body felt weighted and heavy, apparently too heavy for her to even move an arm.

            And to add insult to injury, she noticed that she was cold. Apparently she had kicked off all of her blankets in her sleep sometime during the night. Now she would have to find them.

            Seriously, Keiko could have cried at the injustice of it all.

            Momentarily giving in to the lethargy of her body, she let her head drop back down onto her pillow.

            Except she didn't hit her pillow. Instead her head landed with a sound thud, like she had hit something hard and solid. 

            Hard? Why would I hit anything hard in my bed? Did I kick my pillow off too?

            Groggy and confused, which was not a good combination when she was tired, Keiko slowly braved opening her eyes again to see why her head as well as the rest of her body were being deprived of the usual comfort of her bedding.

            Again the light was there, sharp and jarring, causing Keiko to seriously contemplate having the thing permanently removed.

            Light, who _really uses it anyway?_

            Making another attempt to lift herself, Keiko still found that she could only lift her head, the rest of her body still felt too heavy to move.

            Am I really that pathetic, she wondered in dull amazement.

            I should take more excersising classes Keiko promised

            At last the offending blaze of light faded and Keiko looked around her-

            - and felt her self become paralyzed with terror.

            She wasn't in her bed.

            She wasn't even in her_ home_.__

Keiko was somewhere else.

            She was in a nightmare.

            Quickly she crammed her eyes shut, willing herself to wake up and have the image she had just seen disappear.

            Because she could make what was in front of her go away. She _could! Everything would be ok when she opened her eyes. It was just like any other bad dream that she had ever had. It wasn't real…what she had seen wasn't real, right? Right!_

            So why did her stomach still feel like the bottom had dropped out of it? 

            Slowly Keiko opened her eyes-

            -and was greeted by the same scene as before..

            She felt like she had landed herself in a horror movie, captivated in a dreamlike state as she could only gaze numbly at what she saw and hopelessly try to cope with it.

            She was in restraints.

            Her whole body, starting with her ankles all the way up to her wrists, was held firmly down with thick black strips to what she now realized was a metal table, like the kind you see in operating rooms.  Her legs were held together, but her arms were spread out on either side of her, wrists up.

            As kind of an after thought Keiko vaguely realized that the reason she hadn't noticed the restraints before was because they were made of some soft material.

            But she didn't really notice this particular bit of information, because something else had caught her attention.

            Now Keiko understood why she was cold.

            Someone had removed her clothes.

            Stripped down to just her underwear and bra, the rest of her skin was left disturbingly exposed, even under the numerous restraints that held her.

            Someone she didn't know had touched her as they took off all of her clothing.

            They had looked at her, eyes leering and invasive.

            And she had been completely helpless.

            A cool breeze softly drifted over her skin, causing Keiko to shiver and seemed to break the trance she was under.

            Suddenly, she started to struggle with the straps that held her down, twisting this way and that, not really caring if it would do any good. Her mind was like that of a frightened animal, the only thought, the only _feeling, was of escape. Her breathing came in short pants and soft grunts as she mindlessly used what strength she had against the bonds that held her down._

            But the restraints barely moved, being very effective and securely tied, causing Keiko to become even more frantic in her efforts.

            Pulling her wrists to her mouth, she tried to bite through the thick bands-but they wouldn't reach. She then tried sliding her legs out from underneath, but that only caused her to chafe around the ankles. 

            Only when she felt a stinging pain in her ankles after she had rubbed them raw enough to bleed did she stop.

            Frustrated and exhausted, Keiko barely realized that she was crying, her broken sobs echoing slightly in the room as her thoughts raced madly around each other, swirling and confused.

            Why? Who took me? Ransom Parents-no-money-Yusuke-help-gone-How?

            How…

            _How._

            Gradually, Keiko's mind cleared as she kept coming back to that one thought.

            How had she been taken? What happened to her? She needed to remember if she had even a ghost of a chance of escaping.

            Forcing herself to breath evenly through her nose to calm down, Keiko addressed this like any other difficult problem she had ever faced in school.

            Concentrate…..when was the last day you remember….

            Fuzzy images started to fade into focus in her mind. Not wanting to lose them, Keiko concentrated everything she had into making those images clearer..

Suddenly everything in her mind became startlingly clear, making Keiko gasp as the images rushed through her with unyielding force.


	2. Bad idea

****

Authors notes: I appologize for the big space in the previous chapter , I would have fixed it, but my computer with the file on it decided to break. Joy.

To those of you who reviewed, thanks a lot, I really appreciate it. Now, with this chapter I admit that it is really long and might not be that entertaining, but I promise that if you do read it and review than I'll make the next xhappie very entertaining and you'll even find out who Keiko's rescuer will be.

You do care, right? ^_-

Keiko sighed in relief as she locked up the door to her parents noodle shop for the night. It had been extremely busy and she was sure that she smelled like Oden, but she couldn't help but smile inwardly at how well business was going.

Briskly she started walking to her car when her gaze falling on a kissing couple on the other side of street.

They held each other like they might never let go, as if they were just content to stay as they were.

If only Yusuke had been content….

Instantly Keiko reprimanded herself. It had been two months since Yusuke had left and she was _not _going let herself be depressed any longer! She was in charge of her own happiness now, not him. She had chosen that for herself.

But even that empowering revelation still failed to rid of Keiko of her sleepless nights and lonely heart. 

She missed him. Missed her friend and first love.

But it had been her choice, and now she had to live with it.

Slightly squaring her shoulders like a soldier preparing for battle, Keiko forced a lilt into her step as she finished walking the distance to her car. Once she was in she turned the radio on as loud as she could stand it (and that was pretty loud). 

At the moment Ayumi Hamasaki was belting out her latest upbeat hit, and Keiko let herself sing along at the top of her lungs during her whole drive home. Even at the age of twenty, this little ritual always made Keiko feel a lot better if something was bothering her.

After endangering the lives of countless citizens as Keiko had made her way through the streets at dangerous speeds, she finally pulled into the driveway of the apartment that she shared with her best friend Taki. 

Her parents hadn't been too thrilled at the idea of Keiko living on her own as she went through college, but Keiko had needed the space and independence, especially after Yusuke had left to further his training with Genki.

Reaching her door, Keiko fumbled through her purse for her set of keys when the door suddenly opened and a demon yanked her inside with enthusiastic force.

That demon was Taki, her best friend and roommate, and no, she wasn't an actual demon, but the expression of pure evil mischief and delight that animated her face was enough to make Keiko seriously wonder.

Right now said demon/best friend had a death-grip on her arm and was hauling Keiko through the hallway to their shared bedroom.

Before Keiko could open her mouth to question Take's odd behavior, her best friend rounded on her.

"You're late!" 

She made it sound as if Keiko had committed a heinous crime, and she had to struggle for a moment to remember what Taki could be talking about.

Then it dawned on her, sending a sinking feeling through her gut.

The club.

Keiko was had agreed (under extreme duress) to go with Taki to a club tonight.

Taki thought that it was just what Keiko needed to get over Yusuke and Keiko couldn't have disagreed more.

But even so she appeared repentant and tried to subdue her friends' ire.

"I'm so sorry Taki, but the shop was extremely busy tonight and we only had four people covering tables."

Seeing a possible escape, Keiko quickly added, "You could always go to the club without me, I wouldn't mind!"

This earned one of Taki's assessing look, and Keiko hoped that her friend would take one look at her hap-hazard appearance, and decide that her friend was unfit to go. Slumping slightly and trying to look as tired as possible, Keiko sent a silent prayer to any god that would listen

"Your going, No excuses."

Apparently now was a good time to become atheist.

Abruptly Taki turned and grabbed something from their closet, turned back and forcefully placed it in Keiko's arms.

She looked down and her heart nearly stopped.

It was the Green dress.

Oh god!

Panicked, Keiko looked back up at Taki like a deer caught in the headlights. Strangely, Taki was smiling, and even though it was a gentle smile, it still didn't bode well for Keiko.

"It will be ok," she crooned soothingly. " You'll be just fine. Its only one night, its not going to kill you Keiko. Here she paused and for a moment her eyes became serious and concerned as she gently lay one of her hands on one of Keiko's. " I think that this will do you good."

Unable to hold that compassionate gaze, Keiko sighed in defeat and headed for the bathroom for a shower.

"Don't take too long and don't forget to put on that dress!"

Taki's command followed Keiko down the hall and rang in her ears, haunting in its promise of humiliation.

The Green Dress was a creation that had been solely designed to embarrass Keiko for the benefit of her Demonic friend. She was sure of it. 

That same said roommate was currently inspecting Keiko's appearance, circling her like a hawk.

She was wearing a short, solid black dress that complimented her black hair and dark features. Black stiletto's completed her outfit and the tap lightly on the floor as she circled her.

"It suits you very well" Taki proclaimed, nodding once in approval.

Keiko, to say the least, did not share her friend's opinion.

The dress was a deep jade green that had intricate black stitching along the edges. Keiko really liked the color and thought that the stitching was gorgeous, but it was the cut of the dress that made her blush in embarrassment.

It was floor length, but it might as well have been a mini-skirt because the left side was cut in a large slit that run high on her thigh, leaving _a lot_ of leg exposed.

There were no straps, which made wearing a normal bra impossible. Taki had suggested that she go without one but Keiko wouldn't hear of it. Over the last few years her body had developed more than she had ever expected it to, and so she could never feel comfortable going anywhere without a bra.

So she had compromised on a strapless bra, and Taki had insisted that she wear the black lacy one with matching panties that Keiko had bought on a whim and then hid in her drawer in embarrassment. Taki had seen them and since Yusuke had still been around, (if you could call it that), she had questioned the horrified Keiko mercilessly until she had wanted to die of shame.

Then Taki had laughed, hugged her, and had never mentioned it again.

Sometimes she wondered if friend really meant 'a creature that is wont to inflict comfort or torture depending upon its mood.'

Yeah, that had to be it.

Lastly, she wore a pair of dainty black slippers that slightly relieved the boldness of the dress. 

Taki had done her makeup expertly since Keiko really didn't like to wear much, and she had to admit that it looked good. She looked older and just a little bit more sophisticated than she really felt. 

But she was still Keiko, and she could never wear _that _dress and look confident in it.

"Taki, I can't wear this! I'm just not that kind of girl. I know I'm pretty, but not bold and beautiful. This kind of dress should be on someone who is." Keiko's voice was pleading and she knew that it also was mirroring in her eyes.

She hoped that her friend would see to reason and spare Keiko this insanity.

Only problem was she never spared Keiko when she thought that it was good for her and the worst part was that she was usually right. 

And right now she was looking at Keiko like you would a difficult child who refused to do what you told them.

Taki never understood how a girl as pure as Keiko could think about herself the way she did, and her disapproval showed in her voice. 

"You are the only person I know who would say that and not be fishing for a compliment. I know that I can't blame your thinking entirely on the guy that left you, but I can blame some of it." 

Taki's voice was gentle, but firm as she continued.

'Kieko, you are more than pretty and hopefully someday a guy who doesn't have their head shoved half way up their ass is going to make you realize it."

After this last comment, Taki winked, which dissipated the rising anger that Keiko had felt on Yusuke's behalf. 

Because, truth was, he kind of did.

Keiko gave a small half smile and Taki pulled her friend into a hug.

"That's my girl," She said proudly.

But when she pulled back, she was frowning.

"What's wrong?" 

Taki bit her lip and looked at Keiko apologetically.

"I just remembered, Shira wanted me to run over to her house for a minute before I head out to the club."

"Oh." Keiko tried to hide the distaste from her voice. Shira was an extremly pompous girl who thought that she could have anything and get away with anything. She was one of the few people that Keiko did not like, but she still made an effort to be nice to the girl. Only problem was, Shira never returned the favor with Keiko and seemed to take special delight in taking jabs at Keiko. She still had no idea why Taki was friends with her but she tried not to intervene,

Taki sensed her friend's unease and after a moment she smiled as an idea struck her.

" I know, why don't you just head down to the club without me and I can call Aoi and have her meet you there?"

Relieved that she didn't have to run into Shira, Keiko agreed and wrote down the address for the club.

As Keiko slipped out the door, Taki gave her one last wink and said, " Now don't even think of skipping out on me, ok?"

Keiko smiled and gave one last parting shot. " It would serve you right if you didn't see me again after making me wear this dress"

Immediately after she said it, Keiko felt a chill go down her spine. 

Shaking it off, Keiko quickly made her way to her car, wondering all the while why she had a heavy sense of foreboding weighing on her heart.

The club was on old looking warehouse with a bright pink neon sign that read 'The Hide-out'.

Oddly enough, there were a lot of people lined up at the door to get in. Most of them were girls that were younger than Keiko but dressed in a lot less.

So maybe she wasn't going to be the flashy one tonight after all. This made Keiko feel a little relieved and she set to find Aoi among the crowd of people.

After a few minutes of bumping in to people and a few hundred apologies, she started to worry that she wasn't going to be able to find Aoi.

Finding a bare piece of wall, she leaned against it, trying to be unnoticeable until Taki arrived.

Except that someone _had_ noticed her.

Quickly Keiko glanced down for a few moments and then looked back up.

A tall blond guy about Ten feet from her was staring at her with eyes that were intense in their gaze.

Uncomfortable, Keiko blushed and turned her gaze to her shoes.

Why was that guy staring at her?

Before she could think on it too much, a pair of shoes that Keiko didn't recognize filled her vision.

Looking up, she found herself drowning in violet eyes that stared down at her.

They were like amethysts. No one, no person should have eyes like that. They were too beautiful

Must be a trick of the light…

" Hi, My name is Hokin. Are you looking for someone?"

The voice was rich and deep and it snapped Keiko out of whatever had made her want to drown in a strangers eyes.

Deeply mortified that she had been staring, Keiko could only nod as she blushed.

Hokin smiled. He was cute, with full lips and slanting eyes, he looked slightly boyish except for a scar that ran down his chin in a diagonal line. Up close she could see that his hair was and ash blond color and looking up she realized that he stood about a full head taller than she did.

There was an air around him of carelessness and mischief.

Keiko realized with a wrench that he reminded her of Yusuke and that made her slightly wary.

"I'm trying to find a friend that's already here." She said cautiously, again scanning the crowd for signs of Aoi.

Hokins smile widened, showing (was it her imagination?) slightly pointed teeth.

"I can get you into the club past the line, your friend is probably waiting for you in there."

Keiko looked at the guy in front of her dubiously. "Can you really?"

Hokin nodded. " I work here, so I could sneak you through the back, Its better than standing out here."

As much as she didn't want to, Keiko had to admit that standing outside forever wasn't very appealing.

Still….

"Why would you help me" she asked him suspiciously.

Hokins smile faded and he shrugged. " You looked like you were lost and might need some help. This isn't exactly the best place to come alone you know."

Turning as if to go, he said, "If you would rather wait out here, than that's your choice."

Instantly Keiko felt guilty for the way she had spoken to him.

"Wait, I'm sorry."

When he turned back she smiled apologetically. "I'm just a little nervous being here. I usually don't come to places like this. I would really appreciate it if you could help me inside."

His smile returned in full force and Keiko felt herself drawn to his eyes again.

"I would be more than willing to help you, but on one condition." His voice was held a small amount of teasing

Kieko raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"If you agree to dance with me."

Keiko felt like she was going to have a permanent blush set into her face. She looked at his boyish smile and found herself doing something she never would have thought possible.

She said yes.

"Great, let's go" He walked around to the side of the building, apparently heading for the back of it.

Keiko was still trying to figure out how she could have said yes.

Well, he was cute and Taki would be proud of her for dancing with a guy. 

But she knew that's all she would do. She wasn't ready for anything more just yet. No matter how cute the guy was.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Keiko realized Hokin was no longer in front of her.

There was a corner to her right just in front of her.He must have just gone around it, Keiko thought as she hurried to catch up.

She rounded the corner and was about to shout for him to wait up when something strong grabbed her from behind.

Keiko's eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to scream but a cloth was firmly pressed to her mouth and muffled her voice.

The cloth was soaked in some sort of chemical that made her want to gag.

She tried to struggle, but that arms that held her were like a vice and she was quickly losing strength.

Fear mad her breathing harsh, and the deep breaths only made her take in more of the drug that was in the cloth.

"You're a real nice catch. Someone is really gonna pay a lot of money for you."

The voice was in her ear, but she couldn't concentrate on it because the world was slipping away, taking Keiko with it.

Sinking to the ground, limp and helpless, a flash of harsh violet was all Keiko saw before everything went black.

****

Post note: I appologize if I seem to rag on Yusuke, I really like him, I do. Even if he does have his head shoved up his butt! ^_^


	3. Keiko's Resolve

**AUTHORS NOTES: **Wow, sorry about the long period without an update. Ill try and make up for it by getting another chapter out quickly.

As always please review and leave any kind of feedback you wish. Enjoy

Keiko blinked at the light above her head, her heart racing at the rush of images that had gone through her head.

That guy…that guy Hokin, he took me, Keiko realized.  She knew it had been him; the flash of violet that she had seen just before she had lost consciousness was still vivid in her mind.

But why? Why had he taken h-

_"You're a real nice catch. Someone is really gonna pay a lot of money for you."_

_Pay?..._**OH GODS!!!**

Hokin was going to_ sell her! _

Suddenly Keiko's lungs weren't cooperating with her efforts to breathe. She felt as if the air was too big to take in, and her body started to shake in fine tremors that slowly grew.

Clenching her fists hard enough to almost break the skin, Keiko forced herself not to scream.

Because Keiko was incredibly, undeniably, pissed.

How dare that guy! He thinks that he can _sell her? What kind of barbaric person would do that?!  Nobody could __buy her, Keiko wasn't anyone's property! They weren't in the middle ages anymore!  _

As she ranted and raved inside of her head, a part of Keiko knew that she was just reacting with anger instead of dealing with her fear of her situation. But Keiko didn't care, because right now, being angry was a lot better than being scared.

Why did this always happen with her?

 When she had been with Yusuke, she had been viewed as a weakness to him and had been used as such countless times. It had wounded something deep inside her to know that Yusuke and their friends had been caused pain because of her.

People always thought they could just use her and that she couldn't do anything about it.

Keiko was sick of it.

Now it was just her, no one else knew what was going on so no one else could save her except herself.

_But could she really get herself out?_

Keiko pushed this negative thought out of the way. She was Yukimora Keiko, and she could solve just about any problem once she put her mind to it!

"Ok, Keiko, now what?" she asked as she stared at the light.

Well, for starters, why not see if there are any possible exits in this room.

Of course, Keiko didn't let the fact that she was currently tied down discourage her. 

Turning her head to the right, Keiko tried to get a good look at the room she was in. On that side of her, there was only a blank white wall about three feet away, and as well as directly in front of her.

Shifting so that she could see to her left, Keiko noticed that there was a door about six feet from her and she felt her spirits rise a little, until she noticed that there were no handles or knobs on this side.

 This door could only be pushed in from the other side, from where the hinges are placed, Keiko guessed. There were only thin lines on the sides and top, showing were the door frame rested. The bottom, however, had at least about two inches of gap between the floor and the door itself, allowing Keiko to see the little strip of light showing through it.

"Well, I guess walking out of this room on my own is definitely out of the question,"  she mumbled darkly to herself.

But her humor was short lived, because Keiko noticed something that, despite her earlier resolve, made her stiffen in fear.

That little strip of light beneath the door now had two shadows in it…

…and the door was opening.

"Ah Koenma sir, we have finally received that information you requested from the informant sir."

The small ruler turned to the large blue ogre that stood in front of his desk. A look of impatience colored his baby-like features as he spoke.

"It's about time! I requested that information a long time ago and it has been six hours!"

Ogre sweat dropped and did his best to be repentant." I'm sorry sir, but the informant was hard to find and it was even harder to get him to talk. We had to promise him complete amnesty and two tickets to the next fight at the Tokyo dome!"

Koenma's frown deepened. "You _did get the information that we needed right?"_

"Oh yes sir, we know the location of Hokin's latest operation, as well as some other info the hustler gave us."

With that Ogre dropped a thin unmarked file onto the desk in front of Koenma. 

Quickly opening it, Koenma scanned all of the information, a lot of it he already knew. On the third page however, there was something there that made the spirit prince come to a halt.

Not wanting to believe what he had seen, Keonma reread the passage several times before he gave up with a pathetic groan and hid his face in his hands.

Concerned, Ogre leaned in closer to the small prince.

"What is it sir?"

"Riosuke," was the muffled answer that came from behind the Koenma's small hands.

Ogre blinked in confusion. "Who sir?"

Putting his hands down, Koenma sighed.

"Riosuke. He is a fire demon that is well known for his desire for destruction. He is very powerful, second only to Hiei in terms of his ability, and very cruel." 

Here Koenma jumped off of his chair and began to pace up and down the room, his round face scrunched up in worry.

"In the past, none of our forces have been able to catch him. In fact, they have all been killed horribly." Koenma added.

"And this Riosuke sir, he is part of Hokin's slave trade?" Ogre asked

"There is no information as to what his exact involvement is, but whatever it is, it is not good."

Worried now, Ogre started to pace as well.

"What are you going to do sir? You know that your father specifically told you to take care of this while he was gone."

This statement caused Keonma to stop dead.

That's right, if dad finds out that I couldn't stop the slave ring, then when he comes home he'll….

Visions of King Enma spanking his son filled the Koenma's head, causing him to shiver in fear.

With a cry the small prince jumped into Ogres arms, clutching at the blue demon desperately.

"What am I going to do Ogre? Dad is going to_ kill me if I don't get this done! It was supposed to be a simple operation, but if Riosuke is involved, who can I send to fight him?!"_

 Ogre scratched his head. "Well I don't know sir. Genkai made sure that we would not be able to contact or find her while she is putting Yusuke through her new training, Kurama is still on that other mission, and Kuwabara hasn't fought anyone in last several years and-"

Ogre could not continue, because Koenma was now starting to wail and cry very loudly.

 Ogre, feeling sorry for his boss, pulled out a little white hanky for him to dry it eyes on.

Koenma took the hanky, still crying pitifully, when suddenly he stopped, and studied the hanky peculiarly.

Ogre, grateful that Koenma had calmed down, smiled brightly. "Do you like that handkerchief sir? I bought it at a quaint little shop in Rizoko. This really nice old Quari demon sold it to me for only fifteen Ryo, and I just couldn't resist. I……"

But Koenma hadn't heard a single thing that Ogre had said. Because he was staring at what was embroidered onto the piece of cloth.

A black dragon with its mouth open and breathing fire, stretched along the bottom of the cloth. The dragon was poised to strike with its claws, making the image fierce.

A solution was starting to form in the mind of the Spirit World Prince. 

With a Yip of glee, Koenma jumped off of the still chattering Ogre and ran over to his intercom on his desk.

"Uh sir, what are you doing?" Ogre asked, confused at the Princes' sudden change in mood.

Koenma sighed like it was painfully obvious what he was doing. "I'm getting someone who can fight Riosuke."

"But who sir?" Ogre asked, surprised.

Koenma looked at the Handkerchief again before buzzing the intercom.

Who indeed…

Keiko clenched her teeth and glared at Hokin as he walked through the door into her room and came to stand next to her.

He was wearing the same outfit that she had seen him in at the club and Keiko guessed that hadn't been that long since he took her.

"Ah, you are awake." He smiled, and it was just like his eyes, cruel.

Keiko continued to glare at him, not saying a word.

"Don't look at me like that, it ruins those pretty features of yours." His voice was slightly scolding, like when you talk to stubborn child. 

Leaning over slightly, Hokin brought his hand to her face and lightly brushed his fingers down the side of her neck and then over her shoulder and down her arm.

Keiko felt disgust roll through her, but she didn't flinch or jerk away. 

All the while he watched her with his eyes. Filled with cruelty, their violet color now made them look sharp, like glass.

"So soft," He murmured, his hand softly trialing back up her arm and over her collar bone.  Keiko felt her eyes widen and her breath leave her body as his fingers slowly went lower, dancing lightly just above breast.

He was amused now, waiting to see when she would crack, as he ever so slowly brought his hand closer and closer.

Don't touch me, don't you dare touch me!  She wanted to scream, to run, to do anything but lay there and let this pervert touch her.

But she stayed as still as death, biting her inner lip unitl she tasted blood so as not to scream. Her eyes were starting to sting and Keiko fought hard to keep the tears from showing. 

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry, she wouldn't!

Suddenly he stopped, his hand hovering dangerously close to the top of her breast. Then, with a smirk, he removed his hand and stood up.

"My my, what a feisty little one you are. If you weren't worth more to sell, I might consider keeping you myself just to see that spirit break."

Eyes leaving hers, Hokin let them travel all over her and Keiko was forcefully reminded of the state of her undress. Her stomach clenched violently and she wondered if she was going to be sick.

"Such a lovely body, it's really a shame that I can't have a go at you myself, but my clientele doesn't accept damaged goods" he said regretfully.

Bringing his eyes back to hers for a moment, Hokin continued.

"But where are my manners, I've been sitting playing and the doctor needs to see you."

He turned from Keiko and walked back out the door, shutting it behind him.

As soon as he was gone Keiko sucked in air violently as she struggled to breathe through her sobs.  Her body shook as she forcefully she tried to temper her fear and disgust over what had just happened.

_What was going to happen to her?_

_ Hokin had wanted to touch her…but he couldn't because then she would be 'damaged goods'._

_Someone wanted to buy her, and then they would be able to do whatever they wanted…_

_She had to escape before she was sold._

_Otherwise Keiko was sure that she would recieve treatment far worse than what she had went through, and if that happened…_

Kieko didn't know how long she could survive.


	4. on a mission

**AUTHORS NOTES:** 'author searches frantically through all of her notes and chapters*

Now I know that I put it here somewhere….aha!

*Author pulls out standard disclaimer* 

I don not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters contained therein. Well, actually I do own a few of them…

So even though this disclaimer is late, please don't sue me as I have absolutely no money.

*There are 'slight' spoilers for the Makai tournament in here, but nothing major, promise! ^_^

A teenager with chocolate brown hair and eyes sat behind his large desk, trying his best to exude an air of authority.

Lazily sucking at his pacifier, Koenma carefully regarded the demon before him.

Hiei currently stood with his arms crossed against his chest, his face in its usual mask of disdain as he silently glared at the Rekkai Prince.

Koenma, for his part, suppressed the urge to look away. He hated it when Hiei gave him that look, and after what Koenma had just told him, the young prince did not believe that the fire demons attitude was going to change anytime soon.

Clearing his throat his throat pointedly, Koenma decided to continue.

"So you see Hiei, you are the only available resource that I can use on this mission. Naturally, you will be compensated for your efforts, and I'm sure that you will see that it is to your benefit."

Immediately Hiei's scowl deepened and the fire demon promptly turned to leave.

 Koenma sweat dropped. This was going to be even more difficult than he thought….

"Now hold on Hiei-

-Save it! You have nothing that I could possibly want, and your ability to order me to one of your ridiculous missions ended years ago." He said derisively.

Halfway turning, Hiei raised an eyebrow in suspicion

 "As for the 'mission' itself, since when have you or King Enma ever cared about human slave rings? Countless others have existed in the past without your interference, and I can think of several that were much more deplorable. So, what is it that you are not telling me?" He asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

Koenma swallowed deeply and did his best to keep his face impassive.

"I have given all the information you need. Anything else, such as the reason for this mission, is irrelevant to you."

This only made Hiei smirk as he once again started to walk away.

As a parting shot, he said "Find one of your moronic human loving assistants to do the job and do not bother me again."

For a moment Koenma warred with himself over his next course of action, but decided that he didn't have a choice.

"Riosuke is involved."

Hiei stopped cold just as the door in front of him opened.

After a moment Koenma continued. "We do not as of yet know his exact involvement, but we do know that he visits the compound often. If Riosuke were to be there while we apprehended Hokin, naturally I would need someone who could fight him and win."

Silence reigned as Koenma watched Hiei, who now stood as still as stone. After what seemed like hours, Hiei slowly turned back around.

The first thing the prince noticed was that Hiei was smiling, and it was not pleasant. For some reason this unnerved Koenma more than any of Hiei's previous glares.

 Another thing that only deepened the feeling was the look in Hiei's eyes. The burned with hatred, which was normal for Hiei, but this was something deeper than he had ever seen before.Suddenly doubt filled Koenma, and he wondered if Hiei really had been the best choice for this case.

Inwardly he sighed heavily as he prepared to give the rest of the orders.

It didn't matter what misgivings the ruler had, because like it or not, Hiei was the only choice.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Koenma groaned deeply as he sagged into his chair and changed back into his younger form with a loud pop.

Ogre, who had been watching silently in the back of the room, walked up to his boss after Hiei had left the room.

"I can't believe that you actually got Hiei to agree sir, I thought that he was going to leave for sure."

"Yes, and if I hadn't mentioned Riosuke, im sure that he would have." Koenma said tiredly.

Ogre nodded "It was a very smart thing to look up Hiei's past involvement with Riosuke, but sir, why didn't you tell Hiei the reason for the mission?"

"Because, quite frankly, he didn't need to know!" the toddler declared haughtily.

Ogre sweat-dropped and frowned disapprovingly. "Sir, don't you think that is a rather childish reason not to inform Hiei about the experiments?"

Koenma scoffed. "Of course not! What I say goes and I say that he doesn't need to know. His only objective is to go into the compound, detain Hokin, and rescue any possible captives and to deal with Riosuke if he shows up. He doesn't need to be concerned with minor details."

Ogre shook his head "I just think that it may have been wise to tell him."

"And that kind of thinking is exactly why I am ruler and you are just an office aid."

Tears filling his eyes, Ogres lip trembled. "That was an incredibly mean thing to say sir."

Koenma sighed. Ogres and there tender feelings……

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mukuro thoughtfully studied her heir, who was currently sitting in a windowsill, waiting for her decision.

"I see, so Koenma has asked you to put a stop to a human slave ring for him, and you, having agreed, would like to use a few of my men."

Hiei frowned. "Only to round up any Baka Ningen captives that may be running about the place."

Mukuro nodded sagely. "Naturally, I'm aware that you would not want the role of rescuer of humans ever again, but tell me, why have you agreed in the first place?"

Expecting only silence from her comrade, Hiei surprised her slightly by answering.

"An old adversary may be there, and I believe that it may prove to be an entertaining distraction."

His eyes, which held a devilish gleam that had been missing during the current absence of any real challenges to their authority, and that look only deepened as she watched.

Very well, we must keep our little Fire Demon entertained, otherwise he will become lazy and I may have to consider finding another heir, Mukuro thought to herself with a faint smile.

"Very well Hiei, you may have Kika and Shorin accompany you. But understand this, I do not send you out so that you or my men can get killed."

Hiei's only response was a grunt and Mukuro had to force herself not to smile further.

Teasing Hiei was like playing with a poisonous snake. But then again, that's why Mukuro did it.

Whether he or any one else ever realized it, Hiei's potential to become even stronger was great.  His powers could one day over come Yusuke Urameshi's, as Mukuro knew that was one of his few true desires. She did not know the particulars of his defeat to the spirit detective, but she did know that it had never quite left his mind, despite all appearances otherwise, and after witnessing the boy fight for herself, Mukuro knew that it would be no easy feat.

But there was something that was missing, an element that Hiei lacked to go further and even though Mukuro suspected what that was, it could not be helped by her.

So she would continue to train with him and to push him, until he found for himself that which would ultimately make him stronger.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiei stood in a tall tree watching one of the suns setting in the Makai. The colors it created were harsh compared to those in the human world, but Hiei preferred it.

After being confined to the human city Tokyo, Hiei found it more enjoyable to be surrounded with the harshness that was the Makai. Soft sentiments that ruled in the human world were an annoyance that he was more than happy to be rid of.

Here he was in a world that was like him.

Merciless and Deadly.

But within a few hours he would pay a visit to the human world, and Riosuke.

It had been a long time since he had seen the other fire demon, but Hiei's memory was clear-

-and that bastard would pay.

Hiei couldn't care less about Hokin or the humans that he enslaved.

The only thing he cared about was finding Riosuke, and killing him.

Hiei smiled to himself as the last rays of the sun died from the sky.

This might prove to be just the entertainment he needed…..

**Post Note*** I decided to give Keiko a small break, considering what im going to do to her in the next chapter. Yes I am incredibly evil, but she'll thank me for it later.

And for those of you who actually know who Mukuro is and she seems ooc, gomen, cuz I havn't had that much to draw upon.

Now I know that I have this labeled as a romance, and I promise that is what I intended for this fic, just try and be patient since I am extremely slow at getting there. But it is coming soon, so keep reading and reviewing as I absolutely love you people that do and I will make it worth it, I promise!^_-


	5. Doctor Visit

****

Authors notes: As always, I don't own the original characters of Yu Yu Hakusho, but I do however own the characters that I came up with. And really, you don't want to steal any ideas that come from my warped brain, really you don't. They will turn on you , I promise, the little bastards.

So Anways, what Im trying to say is don't sue me.

As always I thank those who reviewed, infact there is a formal thank you at the bottom of this.

As for those of you who didn't review….get off your lazy ass! 

Just kidding, ^_-

Ps, sorry about the tags, I know their annoying.

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The Doctor was unlike anything that Keiko had been expecting.

Since Hokin had told her that the Doctor had wanted to see her, she had envisioned an ugly little imp like Dr. Itchigaki from the dark tournament to walk in with an evil instrument in hand.

So she was completely at odds with what had actually come through that door. 

The Doctor was in his late forties, had a shy smile with dimples, warm brown eyes and reminded her of someone's nice guy uncle.

"Excuse me miss, My name is Doctor Kamiya and I am going to administer a check up on you to make sure that you are suffering no ailments." He said kindly.

Dumbfounded, Keiko didn't resist or utter a word as the Doctor checked her pulse and then her blood pressure. 

Ailments? What would he call being strapped almost naked to a table against her will? Even though this guy may have seemed harmless, if he was willing to go along with something like this without flinching than Keiko knew that she had to be on her guard around him as well.

"I know this may seem a bit childish for someone your age, but I would like to check your throat, so please open your mouth and say aaaaghhh."

Keiko dutifully opened her mouth but did not say aahhhhh, and the Doctor pushed one of those Popsicle sticks onto her tongue as he checked her throat.

This is just too weird, Keiko mused as the doctor removed the stick from her mouth and turned to a small table that he had wheeled into the room with him.

Upon turning however, the Doctor caught sight of the blood that had dried around her ankles. Pausing, he stared at them for a moment before turning back to his table to grab something.

Keiko felt her heart surge with hope. Maybe the Doctor wasn't apart of this like she had originally thought; maybe he could help her!

Turning back to her injured ankles to administer some disinfectant to the wounds, Keiko took her opportunity to speak.

"Doctor Kamiya?" Keiko asked quietly, almost afraid to speak.

The Doctor remained quiet, focusing on cleaning the cuts on her right ankle, and Keiko involuntarily hiss at particularly nasty sting she felt due to the chemicals that she was using.

Immediately the Doctor looked up at her and his eyes held something that Keiko had a hard time placing.

That look…. It was almost like he felt like chiding her for what she had done to herself…. Like it was her fault that she was in pain.

Only further proving her theory, the Doctor again spoke as he put away the cloths he had used to clean her cuts.

"You really shouldn't injure yourself like that. It causes unnecessary pain that could have otherwise remained uninflected. So do not continue to do things that could damage your otherwise perfectly healthy body." 

"And what they would do to me, the people that would supposedly buy me, that would be ok?" Keiko asked, shocked at Doctors response.

The Doctor clucked in admonishment, his back still turned to her.

"That is something that you have no control over and therefor cannot be helped. However, what you do to yourself can be. So do yourself a favor and spare yourself any unnecessary pain."

Keiko swallowed the bitterness that rose in her throat at the Doctors words. He had just basically told her to just accept what was going to happen to her and to not make it any harder.

Any harder! Keiko would love to see him still hold that view if he were the one strapped to the table.

Even so, why was he doing this?

"Doctor Kamiya," Keiko asked firmly, "Why are you helping people like this? What do you get out of it?"

"That is an interesting question…."

The way he answered sent shivers of apprehension down Keiko's spine and as he slowly turned to face her, she could tell that something about him had changed.

In his hand he held an empty syringe and was placing a new disinfected needle tip into it.

But he was looking at it like it was a toy; his eyes were now alight with an almost childlike pleasure and then he turned that gaze to Keiko, 

As he spoke his voice was still warm, still a nice guy kind of voice, but his eyes told a different story with the manic excitement held in them. 

"You see young lady, working for such people allows me to practice my greatest passion, which others who have been blind to progress have abhorred."

Closing the distance between himself and the table, the Doctor lost his smile and frowned at her.

"Now I need to draw a sample of your blood," he began and instantly Keiko tried to jerk away from his touch, causing him to frown deeper in exasperation. " Now it is not a large sample, but I am going to take it from the main artery in your neck, so if you struggle than you could run the risk of me rupturing your vein and causing you to bleed to death."

This statement caused Keiko to go achingly still and she watched in horrified fascination as he brought the syringe to her neck.

"Now your going to feel a slight sting, but don't worry it will all be over soon." He soothed.

Keiko clenched her eyes shut as the needle pinched into her vein and the blood began to flow. She hated needles, but didn't dare move for fear of the Doctors threat, but she couldn't help but let out a small whimper in fear. Yusuke had always laughed at her when she would get nervous about going to the doctors…. She wondered if he would laugh at her now.

A moment later Keiko opened her eyes when she felt the needle being removed and firmly replaced by soft cotton gauze that the doctor held securely with medical tape.

"There now, it wasn't all that bad was it?" The Doctor asked smiling. 

Keiko could feel herself becoming light headed and she wondered just how much a small sample really was. Cautiously she looked up at the Doctor and even though he was partially turned from her she could still see part of his face and what he was doing.

The Doctor was mixing what appeared to be her blood in a large flask of clear liquid, and his expression was one of fierce concentration.

This made Keiko extremely uneasy as she realized that he was waiting for something, and she found herself also staring at the flask, hoping that whatever he was expecting didn't happen.

After a minute or two of strained silence Keiko watched the Doctors shoulders sag and utter disappointment settle into his face.

"Another failure." He murmured tiredly.

Keiko closed her eyes and inwardly heaved a huge sigh of relief. She had never thought that she would be so happy in her whole life to be called a failure!

Feeling happy that at least one thing had gone in her favor, Keiko decided to rub it in his face.

"Its what you deserve you know. Working with monsters like this, helping them make slaves out of people, it serves you right that whatever sick plan your working on doesn't work!"

Feeling a little satisfied, Keiko enjoyed the silence that followed. I'm was going to make it out of this, she resolved. I'm going to-

"kukukukukukukuku"

Wha-what was…!

The Doctor was laughing.

Alarmed, Keiko opened her eyes to see what had caused this change in him and what she found made her heart stop cold.

The flask that had once been clear had now turned a shade of almost electric purple. Remnants of her blood continued to swirl slowly inside, but as Keiko watched the blood itself dissolved into the liquid and also turned purple.

Keiko knew that this was really, really bad news.

The Doctor started to laugh even harder and Keiko felt an overwhelming urge to scream in horror.

Because he was now looking at her like he had his syringe, his eyes burning with insanity and triumph. Keiko was his new favorite toy and the Doctor was finally going to be able to play. 

Suddenly Keiko realized that she would have been safer with Hokin. The slave trader would have molested her; maybe even raped her….

But this man, she knew, was going to do much worse.

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Hiei stopped silently in a tree, the ranch rustling slightly under his weight. A second later two other forms stopped a little distance away on both sides of him.

__

How long before we reach the compound sir?

The message had been sent telepathically and Hiei turned his head in the direction of the one who spoke.

__

Two hours. Move silently through the compound and mask your ki. If there are any demons with the humans I don't want to alert them to our presence. Our objective is to capture the leader Hokin and Dispatch any demons you find. Koenma has requested that we leave all humans alive. Pity, it would mean less mindless filth in the world.

What about the human captives sir? The other demon asked.

Hiei smirked.

__

I suppose if you find any than you can toss them into a closet or something until this is finished. I don't really care.

And with that Hiei began dashing through the forest once more, is blurred figure blending in with the night.

__

Soon Riosuke, soon…

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The Doctor's whole demeanor had changed. The false warmth and shyness that she had seen had been replaced by insane glee.

Currently he finished filling another syringe with that clear liquid again, and from what Keiko could see it was a rather large dose. Then he set it down and pulled out a cell-phone from his lab coat and proceeded to call someone.

"Hokin, we have a match. Inform Riosuke that she will be ready to see within two hours."

Riosuke, is that who they were going to sell her to? That fast?! How am I going to escape in one hour? What did he meant the found a match and what exactly is this Freak Job going to do to me?

Keiko felt the urge to break down, but she resisted. She had to be strong if she wanted to survive. It would probably only make things worse for her if she cried.

But what she wouldn't give to see Yusuke and his friends come through that door and kick everyone's ass.

Just then the door did open, but it wasn't Yusuke who walked though. 

It was Hokin.

"Well, Well, Well, aren't you a lucky girl." He said smoothly as he moved to stand next to the Doctor.

Keiko felt her anger returning and drew upon that as she silently glared at him.

"No really, you should be happy." He promised. "Most of the girls that I sell go to demons who can't tell between a piece of ass and piece of food. But you're fortunate, because thanks to your blood, you're going to be sold to Riosuke."

Hokin moved to Keiko's side and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I guarantee that Riosuke knows exactly what category you fall in. You're going to have so much fun."

Kieko felt the blood leave her face as she digested his words.

Demons. She was going to be sold to a demon as a sex slave.

Suddenly Hokin straightened himself and with an evil grin pushed her head forcefully to one side. Keiko cried out at the rough treatment to her poor neck. She couldn't see anything since Hokin and the Doctor were both on the other side of her, and that suddenly sent a new surge of fear through her.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" she cried.

The Doctors voice, a little above her, is what answered.

"You have very special blood. Because of a recessive gene that has been carried through your ancestry, I am finally able to complete my experiment, and my greatest vision."

"What do you mean, recessive gene?"

"I mean, my dear girl, that there is demon blood somewhere in your ancestry. A very specific kind of demon blood, but too old and dormant to manifest itself into demonic traits. So essentially, even though you carry this recessive trait, you are human through and through. But I am about to change that.

You see my passion has been to create a specific type of demon out of DNA and Gene therapy . Through years of toil I have been able to create a process that is almost instantaneous, but I also found that only humans carrying that specific gene can be altered."

Here the Doctor sighed before continuing. "However, I was quite disappointed to find that the amount of humans who possess this trait is virtually nonexistent, and it seemed as though my work would go unrealized."

"Then Riosuke contacted the good Doctor and myself, offering to become a sponsor to us both if I were able to find a specific girl for the Doctor to use." Hokin added.

"I was kind of nervous for a bit, working with a demon as powerful as him. I mean, the guy can burn you to a crisp just by looking at you! But he's supplied me with some really good female demon submissive's that have sold for top dollar to my human clients and he is gonna pay a lot for you. I knew that you were going to make me a lot of money the first time I laid eyes on you." Hokin purred as he stroked her jawline with the thumb that held her head in place.

"Oh, but you probably had no idea that Demons even exist! That must come as quite a shock, knowing that your going to be sold the boogey-man and believe me honey, they are every bit as scary as you think they are."

"You have know idea." Keiko said softly.

"What was that?" Hokin asked, confused.

"I said that you have know idea how evil those Demons are. I do. I also know that Riosuke will kill you when he realizes what an awful pick you brought him. Because I promise that I won't do anything he wants. I would rather die first." She stated boldly through her trembling.

Hokin chuckled, "On the contrary sweetheart, Riosuke likes it when they struggle. He likes to break his girls, I know because I have supplied him with a few temporaries while we were looking for someone like you. They never lasted long, and what he did to them…damn! He's going to enjoy breaking you in and you will be amazed at how much you'll be able to take without dying after the Doctor is finished with you."

"If you turn me into a Demon, than theoretically I could develop powers like one, and use them to destroy you!" Kieko threatened.

"In a few days, after your first inoculation, I would inject you with another serum, that would suppress any Demon powers that may arise. You would essentially be as helpless as you are now, just no longer human and graced with a long life-span and an incredible endurance to pain." The Doctor informed calmly.

"I hope that King Enma of the spirit world has both of your souls tortured in Purgatory for all eternity you sick bastards." Keiko said hotly a she started to struggle. She may not have been able to hardly move, but Keiko was not about to let them have an easy time of it.

"Pray to any god you like, it won't do you any good." Hokin sneered as he forcefully held her head in place.

"Hold still and this will hurt less." The Doctor instructed her coolly.

"FUCK Y_"

Keiko was unable to finish as a needle was suddenly plunged into her throat and she gasped as she felt something being forcefully injected into her blood stream. It felt thick, like it was too much for her vein to hold, and Keiko couldn't help but whimper softly.

"There we go, know just relax and don't fight it." The Doctor said as he slowly pulled out the needle.

Keiko felt the hand holding her neck in place release its hold.

"What now?" Hokin asked the Doctor,

"Now we wait a moment." He answered.

Keiko blinked as the room went into hyper-focus. She could see everything in perfect detail as if she were looking through a high powered microscope. Turning her head quickly to the other side to escape the picture, she immediately felt a rush of nausea slam through her. Groaning, Keiko clenched her eyes shut and coughed as she struggled not to gag.

"What have you done to me?" She asked groggily.

And then she felt it.

The first prickling of heat started in her chest and slowly moved out ward with each beat of her heart. It grew stronger, and as the heat increased it soon became uncomfortable and then painful. Soon her entire body felt like it was engulfed in flames from the inside, and Keiko began to writhe on the table in agony.

She couldn't take it…it was too hot…make it stop…Yusuke…YUSUKE!!!!! She tried to work her throat to form his name but no sound would come out. The heat and pain continued to increase as it pulsed through every part of her body and Keiko screamed inside of her head as every part of her felt like it was being stabbed with a heated knife. 

Keiko felt her body arch in the pain, but she wasn't able to realize that her body had bent so far that it had broken the two straps across her midsection. All she could sense was the heated pain and the sound of her own unnaturally rapid heartbeat in her ears.

"Hokin hold her down!!" The Doctor cried as he struggled to hold her spasming body.

"Shit!" Hokin swore as he forcefully used all of his weight to force the girl back onto the table. Her face was contorted into a wordless scream and he was sure that if she could have found her voice it would have made his ears ring for days.

Suddenly Keiko stopped bucking and she sank onto the medical table, letting the darkness consume her. 

Hokin let out a breath as he sank against the table, surprised at how much strength it had taken just to hold her down.

"Shit Doc, It looked to me like that transformation almost killed her! Do you realize what would have happened it she died after I had told Riosuke that we had found a girl for him?!"

"Yes," the Doctor breathed, panting from his exertion to hold Keiko down. " He would have killed us. But she is not dead, I assure you."

Turning back to his table, the doctor withdrew another sterile syringe and proceeded to take another sample of Keiko's blood from her right arm. Placing a small culture of the blood onto a clear disk in the high powered microscope that he had brought with him, the Doctor began to study it closely.

"WELL?" Hokin grunted impatiently.

"Well, come see for yourself." The Doctor replied coolly.

Settling himself in front of the microscope, Hokin observed what appeared to be red blood cells. But while some blood cells were normal looking, others were darker and oddly shaped, and they were attacking the normal cells by absorbing them and increasing their number.

Confidently, the Doctor spoke from behind him. "The demon cells are taking over her entire body, forcing her human ones to mutate until her entire body has changed and adapted."

"You really are a genius." Hokin murmured as he continued to watch in fascination, as Keiko's demon cells battle with her human ones.

He stayed until every last cell had been taken over, and then he turned to look at the girl still unconscious on the medical table.

The girl who was no longer human.

Hokin felt a smile slowly form across his face.

Post note* I would like to formally thank all of the reviewers who have been nice enough to give me their input. You guys are awesome! ^_^

Hiei's –Dark-Angel

Mimiru

Forest Dweller 

Katzztar

Rogue Solus ( hey you, update!!)

Walkingbarefoot

Midnight Lilly

And special thanks goes to Miyako14, who has been nice enough to review all of the chapters that I have put out so far. You Rock! 


	6. Inspecting the merchandise

**Authors note* Thank you so much for all of those reviews you guys! Really, it is amazing how much they inspire me to get off my lazy ass and write faster. Be warned that this chapter is really long, but if you do get through it, please give me your feedback. Love it, hate it, feel like spiking my tab with draino…let me know! ^_-**

The Doctor scrutinized his findings closely. Hokin had left shortly after the initial transformation and during that time the Doctor had taken to pouring over the results of some tests.  According to the tests that he had run, the rate of cell mutation would take about 6 hours until it was complete. Then the girl would begin to exhibit demonic traits….probably small and unnoticeable at first, but there was no telling just what kind of form it could take. 

_Will the traits manifest themselves physically_? The Doctor wondered, turning to study his subject. _A change in appearance perhaps?_

 It was very possible, since the change went all the way to a cellular level then it was likely that aspects of her physical structure would change.

Keiko was still unconscious, her chest rising and falling with deep breaths as her body tried to deal with the trauma it had undergone through sleep.

Smirking slightly, the Doctor recalled the girls threat that she would develop 'powers' and destroy Hokin and himself if they changed her.

_Hn, highly unlikely. _

Even if she were able to develop such abilities, they would not show themselves immediately and it would probably require a suitable amount of training to be able to use them at will.

And besides, he was going to strip her of any chance to be able to use any latent abilities anyway.

From the extensive research that the Doctor had conducted on other Demons, he had discovered that the ability to use their powers was also directly linked with the gene that made them a Demon in the first place. This gene allowed a portion of the brain that humans did not use to become overly developed, allowing them to do incredible things with their bodies and their energy.

In humans this part of the brain remained inactive, and in the girls' case, so would hers. After using some lesser demons as test subjects, the Doctor was able to come up with a solution that would in effect paralyze that part of the brain permanently, disabling any ability to manipulate the body's energy for their powers while keeping the basic body chemistry the same.

That had been the tricky part for the Doctor. Disabling any abilities without altering the body's natural chemistry. Riosuke had been very specific about his request and at first the Doctor did not understand the needless complication. It would make sense to completely pacify the subject, so why had he made such a request?

Then he had found the reason why. 

_"You don't want a broken dog that can't perform any tricks-just a leashed one…"_

After he had perfected the serum, it had proven quite lucrative for Hokins' business when dealing demon girls to human buyers. Which was good for the Doctor, because it gave him ample funding to continue his research.

_And fulfill my greatest aspiration_

The Doctor couldn't suppress the pure fascination and excitement he felt whenever he looked at her.

Right now, there was no other creature like her in existence.

She wasn't human, not yet a Demon-but something different all together…

And HE had created her.

He had worked all his life for this, toiling tirelessly, being barred from Medical school for his atrocious experiments on his fellow man, dodging the authorities and acquiring sponsors to further his research.

Now, _Finally_, he had done it

Suddenly door to his left opened and Hokin walked in looking a little bristled, which contrasted with his normally slick demeanor.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "What is wrong with you? You look a little piqued."

Hokin shifted on his feet and looked over the Doctors shoulder at the girl.

"Riosuke is here and he wants to see the girl. Now." He emphasized. 

The Doctor balked slightly. "Now? But I said that she wouldn't be ready for at least two hours and here it has only been about one!

"I know, I tried to explain that she hasn't been cleaned up yet or even regained consciousness, but apparently he doesn't want to wait. He wants to see her now, so I need to take her over to the Screening Room before he becomes impatient."

The Doctor sighed. The rest of his tests would just have to wait.

"Alright, take her over, but be sure to inform Riosuke that he can't take her yet. I need to keep her here for at least another 6 hours to oversee her complete transformation, as well as give her the second serum."

Hokin had walked over to the medical table and began undoing the straps when he looked over at the Doctor curiously.

"Damn, you mean she's not even completely changed yet? Well that's fucking great!"

"The majority of the transformation was done during the first hour; however it has now slowed and won't be complete for several hours."

"What about the second serum? Why can't you just shoot up the bitch now and get it over with?"

The Doctor folded his arms and looked down the bridge of his nose at Hokin. 

"Because, the serum won't work if that part of her brain is not fully functional yet. It would be worthless and could possibly kill her."

Hokin snorted and looked at Keiko closely. "She sure as hell doesn't look any different."

With that he hooked one arm under Keiko's shoulders and the other under her knees and lifted her off of the table.

"You had better hope that He likes the merchandise as she is now Doc, otherwise were both in some pretty deep shit."

The Doctor didn't reply as Hokin walked out of the room. Instead, he turned back to his medical table and continued to scrutinize his results.

_Simply fascinating…_

A few minutes later Hokin laid the still sleeping girl onto a bed of satin sheets and throw pillows. The whole room was done like a rich sheiks tent, with heavy drapes and thick animal rugs everywhere. It was called the Screening Room because this was where certain customers were allowed to 'test out' what they had bought.

_And I have never had an unsatisfied customer. _Hokin thought with a smirk

The girl on the bed moaned in her sleep and Hokin took a moment to look at her again.

Damn if she wasn't a nice piece of tail. Her body was slightly flushed, and Hokin let his gaze travel up her legs where they rested for a moment on her very shapely hips before moving up to her breasts.  They swelled inside her lacy black bra with every breath she took and Hokin resisted the urge to fuck her before he left.

That, unfortunately, wasn't allowed-but he still wanted to see the look on her face when she first took it…

Wait a sec!

With a grin Hokin directed his attention to a mirror positioned on a wall on one side of the bed. There was a security camera hidden behind that mirror and Hokin knew that the camera angle covered the bed area quite closely, so he could still get quite a show after all.

_And if he doesn't like her,_ Hokin thought as he turned to leave, _Ill take her._

Just as Hokin closed the door he felt rather than seen the presence next to him.

It was like a tangible darkness that pressed against his senses and it sent a chill down his spine.

"You took your time in there Hokin." A deep voice said softly from the shadows.

Hokin felt his pulse jump but forced himself to keep his cool.

"I was just making sure that everything in the room was prepared efficiently enough for you."

"Really."

Again, Hokin felt rather than seen Riosuke look at him and he felt the darkness getting deeper.

_Shit…_

"Absolutely. You showed up so early that we didn't have everything quite ready for you yet, so I was trying to make up for it by making sure that the room was at least ready."

"But not the girl?"

It was a question, but Hokin could feel the danger in those words. This was no time to fuck around.

"No, I wouldn't be stupid enough to take something that is yours Riosuke."

"I'm relieved that you have so much intelligence Hokin," came the reply from the shadows.

"Because if you had done anything stupid…I'd kill you."

The last part was said with deadly venom and Hokin swallowed hard.

"She is all yours." He promised.

After a moment the dark aura around him lessened and Hokin resisted the urge to sigh in relief. Instead he smiled and opened the door to the room, gesturing with the other hand for Riosuke to go inside.

Riosuke pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to the entrance.

"Now let's see just how well you and the Doctor have done."

Then he went inside.

It was Dark. 

Keiko couldn't see anything…she kept running but all she could feel around her was darkness. Somehow she knew that she was dreaming, but that still didn't help.

Yusuke…. Kuwubara… someone….where are you??

Over and over she called to her friends, but her voice was always lost and they never answered. 

The darkness was getting closer…it wanted to engulf her, make her apart of it.

Keiko tried to run away from it, she didn't want to be apart of it, but it was everywhere.

Then, as it began to fold around her, it spoke to her in voice that was like a cool wind.

_Its time to wake up… _

And then, she did.

Keiko opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times to clear her vision. Her mouth was dry and she felt exhausted.

_I'm really starting to hate waking up._

Experimentally she tried to move her arms and was shocked when she found that she could. Bolting upright, Kieko glanced wildly around her, trying to ascertain what had happened.

Where am I? What-

Quickly Keiko brought a hand up to her neck and felt the gauze that was there. 

Oh God's it really happened!

Spying a mirror next to the bed, Keiko quickly scooted in front of it, vaguely registering that she was now on a bed. 

But once she was in front of it she clenched her eyes shut, afraid of what she might see.

What if I look different? The Doctor didn't say what kind of demon he was turning me into…what if I have grown horns or something?

Slowly, painfully, Keiko felt the top and sides of her head.

No horns.

Keiko growled inwardly in frustration. Damnit Keiko, stop being a coward! Open your eyes and look at yourself!

Jerking them open, Keiko looked at her reflection and felt her chest tighten.

Her eyes were wide and wild looking; her long hair was slightly messed up around her face.

But no horns, no warts or tattoos. Her eyes were the same warm sienna color that they had always been, her skin the same peach color.

She was still Keiko.

Keiko let out a huge sigh of relief. 

Turning her head to the side, she eyed the gauze on her neck as she slowly peeled it off.

Underneath her skin was unblemished. There was no bruising, not even a sign of a puncture ever even being made.

That's strange, she thought. There should be something there.

Quickly Keiko looked at her ankles for the wound that she had given herself and found the skin there was also unharmed.

_"You will have an incredible endurance to pain…" _

So that probably also meant that she would heal at an abnormally fast rate now. What else would come of this?

Tiredly, she rested her forehead against the cool glass of the mirror and shut her eyes.

"What am I turning into?" she asked herself quietly

"A demon." A cool voice answered from behind her.

Keiko yelped in surprise and she spun around to find the owner of the voice as she grabbed an armful of blankets to cover herself with.

"A special kind of demon to be sure." The owner of the voice continued and Keiko felt her throat close off.

The man that stood before her was definitely not human.

 His face was slender, almost fine but definitely not something that you could ever call feminine. Hair so dark red that it reminded Keiko of blood fell in stray wisps in his face. He was tall; his build could easily be seen as lean and muscular beneath the grey tunic that he wore. In short, he was gorgeous.

But the most striking thing about him was his eyes. They were a cold grey like the color of skies during a snow storm and right now they were watching her with a keen interest.

Viciously Keiko's mind assessed her situation. This was the Demon that she had been sold to, she was sure of it.

Swallowing her fear, Keiko lifted her chin and did her best to look the Demon in the eye.

She would not cower, she would not give up.

Boldly, Keiko decided to address her supposed buyer.

"Are you the one who arranged to buy me?"

"I am."

Keiko felt her temper flare at the calmness in which he spoke.

"Why?" she demanded.

The Demon in front her stayed silent for a moment, his icy eyes burning her with their intensity.

"I intend to make you my mate." He said at last.

Keiko lost it. 

"What?!!!!" She screamed as she moved to stand. "I am NOT going to become your mate! Do really think that you can just buy me and make me do what you want? You'll have to kill me –aagghh!"

Suddenly the Demon had moved and was standing in front of her Very closely.

Startled, Keiko brought her hand around to slap the Demon in front of her. Using strength born of desperation, she slammed her open palm onto the Demons cheek even as she felt her self gasp.  

_He-he didn't move! _

 Riosuke didn't say a word, he just continued to look at her meaningfully and Keiko felt her fear heighten under that stare.

After a moment he smiled slightly.

"Hokin told me that you were spirited, and now I can see that he was correct. You must be, to be brave enough to strike a Demon that could kill you before you could even blink."

Keiko trembled slightly but she held his gaze.

"I won't do anything you want me to." She said quietly. "You're just going to have to kill me, because I will _not_ be your slave."

His smile deepened, giving his face an almost friendly appearance if it weren't for the feral look he was giving her.

"My dear girl, I could do anything I wanted to and there would be nothing you could do to stop me. However-"

As he paused Riosuke slowly began to circle her and Keiko followed his movement, not wanting to have him at her back. 

"I have no intention of forcing you to become my mate." He finished finally.

 "Nani? You just bought me and then told me that you intended to make me your mate!"

Riosuke nodded. "That is true, I did pay for you and I will make you my mate, but I will not have to force you."

Keikos' brain exploded.

"There is no way I would become your mate of my own free will, so if you don't intend to make me than I suggest that you get your money back from Hokin and let me the hell out of here!"

Riosuke raised an eyebrow behind his bangs. 

"Do you honestly think that you can live the pathetic existence you once had as you are now?"

Kieko felt her heart sink but shook it off.

"Hmff, the only difference is that I heal a little faster than normal now. That's all. I _will _get away from you evil bastards and go back to my own life!"

Riosukes' smirk deepened and Keiko felt her anxiety increase as he took a step towards her.

 "I assure you that that is not all. I know that your transformation is not all of the way complete, but there are already signs of what you are becoming. For example, I can smell youki in your scent right now. It is not yet strong because it is still mingled with your human scent, but it is delicious."

Keiko forced down the large lump that was forming in her throat. 

"You're lying." She accused shakily.

"Am I? Then I suppose you require more proof."

He took another step towards her and he was no about an inch from her face. Keiko stood rooted to the spot, his eyes capturing hers and holding them mercilessly.

"Since I entered this room I have been masking my Ki. If I hadn't then you would have definitely felt my presence and you would not have resisted me as you do now."

Keiko's eye twitched in anger as her temper flared back to life.

"Why you pompous a-"

Keiko's tirade on the male ego was suddenly interrupted when a clawed finger was placed gently against her lips. Seeing and feeling the lethal tip of that finger caused her to comply with Riosukes' silent command.

"Ill make you a deal." He began, and Keiko's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"If I cannot make you kiss me of your own free will, then I will let you go, unharmed. I will even make sure that Hokin and the Doctor would not try to keep you."

"You're a lying creep! Besides the fact that you are in league with bastards like Hokin and that Freak Doctor, I know that it took them a long time for them to find someone like me and that it was something that YOU specifically wanted!"

Riosukes' eyes narrowed a little.

"Yes, it is very true that you are something that would be impossible to find again and I am very interested in keeping you. But, that is why if my little wager wins, you will be mine."

"I don't trust you."

"You don't have to. What could you possibly have to lose? I could easily keep you here by force anyway, but this way will be much more entertaining."

 "Hn, I would never kiss you."

Riosuke smiled evilly, his eyes flashing with something that sent a chill down Keiko's spine. 

"Ill take that as a yes."

Then the air around them changed and it was like something inside Keiko opened up. Suddenly she could_ feel_ him. Power radiated from his body in an electric heat and Keiko could feel it sliding over her skin in a rush. 

And the terrifying thing was that it felt good. Keiko could feel something inside of her stirring, trying to answer the feel of his energy.

When the first rush of his scent filled her, Keiko almost leaned in closer to catch more of it. It was dark and there was something different about it and suddenly she knew that she was in trouble.

_No! What is wrong with me? Ok, just take shallow breaths Keiko, don't breath him in, don't look at him, don't –_

A small trail of fire was working its way up her arm and the way it made Keiko feel made her want gasp in pleasure. As it continued to move up towards her face, it grew hotter, almost to the point where it was painfull, causing Keiko's mind to shut out all other thought than of that touch.

A warm breath on Keiko's ear caused her to shiver.

"What is your name?" a silky voice asked her.

Before she realized what she was doing, Keiko answered.

"K-Keiko."

"Firefly child, I like that." 

"What are you doing to me?" She whimpered, trying to fight the way her skin flamed wherever he touched her.

Riosuke pulled back a little bit, until his lips lightly brushed hers as he spoke.

"Nothing. The way you feel…its all you. That's why it was so hard to find you…and why it was so important that I did."

Keiko licked her lips, dangerously close to closing the gap between them. He stayed exactly where he was, not moving any closer.

"What am I?" she whispered, leaning closer to his mouth.

"Mine." He whispered back.

_Mine…_

That single word echoed through her skull, resonating in its meaning as it sank into her hazed consciousness. 

His.

_Someone is going to pay a lot of money for you…_

_I will make you my mate…I won't have to force you…_

_Ill__ die before I let you make me your slave…_

"NO!!" She cried as she pushed him away, breathing harshly as she turned away from him.

Suddenly she was yanked from behind and she screamed in pain as she felt fangs sink into her neck. Something rushed through her whole body with vicious force, causing Keiko to become dizzy in her already exhausted state. 

As quickly as it came it subsided and she was released and thrown viciously onto the bed.

Gasping, Keiko looked up at Riosuke.

His eyes were practically alive with fury and there was a small amount of blood staining his lips, making him look more like the monster that he was than a man.

"I knew that you were a liar." Keiko said shakily, putting a hand over the bite on her neck.

For a moment the fury in the Demons eyes burned brighter and Keiko was sure that he would hit her. But suddenly the ire in them cooled and instead a cruel smile formed on his lips as he licked her blood away.

"You will do whatever I want. All too soon your true nature will reveal itself and then you will know that you are mine. There is no changing it, and I'm going to enjoy the shame that will burn in your eyes." 

Suddenly He turned and walked over to the door.

"I will return for you in a few hours. When I do, you won't be able to hide from the truth, that you are mine in every way possible." 

With that He punched a code into the electronic keypad on the door and walked out, leaving Keiko alone to wonder about the meaning in his words.

Bringing her knees to her chest, Keiko ducked her head under her arms. She used to do this as a small child whenever she was scared, but after Yusuke's relentless teasing about her looking like a turtle she had quickly stopped. Right now she didn't care.

_How could I? How could I have almost given in to that monster, much less even WANT to kiss him? And what did he mean that those feelings were all Mine? How could they have been mine?_

That statement, along with the demons assurance that she would eventually submit, disturbed her terribly. One moment she was fine, and the next all she could feel or see or even smell was him. It was like something inside of her responded to him, not like her body normally did when she was with someone she liked, but something else. It had gotten completely out of her control and that terrified her more than anything else.

That and the question that replayed itself over and over in her mind.

_What am I?_

Hokin looked up in surprise as Riosuke walked over to him. By his watch the demon had only been in that room maybe a half an hour.

"Your not leaving already are you? I thought that you would still be having fun with the girl! You haven't changed your mind or anything right?"

Riosuke walked over to the hatch that held a small portal to demon world and opened it so that green light illuminated his face.

"I will be back in several hours to claim her. Make sure that she is cleaned up but untouched or I will use your own intestines to strangle you with."

Hokin raised his hands in a defensive gesture.  "I get the message, no one will touch her. But why don't you just take her with you now? I mean you already paid for her."

"I have something to take care of in demon world first, which will give time for the transformation to finish itself and for the Doctor to administer any last tests he needs to give."

"Alright, suit yourself." Hokin said as the demon stepped into the portal and disappeared.

After he was sure that he was gone, Hokin smirked at the security camera screen to his left.  He had seen everything, and it had looked like it was getting nice and heavy until the girl suddenly freaked. There was no sound on the feed, but Hokin didn't need it to know that Riosuke had been rejected. But why the demon hadn't just taken what was his and be done with it was beyond him.

_Should have just fucked the bitch, that's what I would have done _Hokin thought as he took an exit to the outside of the compound.

The night was that inky black that made it look like the shadows were alive.

Walking over to a nearby tree, Hokin decided that he needed to take piss before he had a smoke.

Undoing his zipper, Hokin suddenly stopped dead when he felt something very cold and very sharp pressed against the side of his neck. 

"If you want to remain alive in the next few minutes, you will tell me exactly where Riosuke is."  

**POST NOTE- * author falls over dead from exhaustion* Damn that was a long chapter. I hope it was good enough for all of you. Now, if anyone's brain is about to explode from confusion, don't worry, you will find out exactly what Keiko is and why she was acting kind of skanky in the next chapter AND, there will be a lot of Hiei. Promise. Even a little waff action, cuz even I am tired of waiting. ^_^**

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	7. Rescued

**AUHORS NOTE* I am so sorry about going so long without an update! 0_0**

**I have been swamped with approaching finals homework in my art classes. Anyone out there taking painting? It takes a long ass time, promise.**

**So be warned, in my effort to make up for my negligence, this chapter is REALLY long.**

**I tried to stop myself. **

**Really.**

**If you aren't comatose by the end of this chapter, please review my little story.**

**Plot bunnies need some kind of nourishment you know. ^_^**

**And those of you who have already reviewed(some of you twice, yes I am talking to you aksume ^_-) I LOVE YOU TO DEATH!!!!**

 "If you want to remain alive in the next few minutes, you will tell me exactly where Riosuke is."

The voice was coming from behind him and it definitely was not friendly. Fighting the urge to swallow with what felt like a VERY sharp blade pressed against his throat, Hokin put his hands slowly in the air.

"Hey man, sorry, but you just missed him. Riosuke isn't going to be back for a few hours."

Instantly the blade's pressure increased, causing him to wince as it pierced his skin.

"Keep lying to me pretty boy and I'll make sure that you taste my sword as it goes through your neck. I know that he is here, so don't waste your pathetic life in an attempt to hide him."

_The easily pissed type, shit._

"Now just hold on a second! In the room I just came from there are monitors for security surveillance through out the whole compound. You can use that and see for yourself."

"Hn. Take me there, but if you try anything stupid I will kill you."

"Okay, Okay, I get the picture; just lighten the pressure a little ok pal?" Hokin said as he started walking back to the camera room.

But the sword stayed at Hokin's throat, preventing him from even turning to see who the bastard was.

They entered the room and Hokin directed him to the large panel of monitors. Gingerly leaning forward, Hokin brought up one of the monitors and hit rewind until he brought up the last conversation between him and Riosuke.

_I always knew that it was a good idea to have camera's set up everywhere,_ he thought to himself.

"**_Your not leaving already are you? I thought that you would still be having fun with the girl! You haven't changed your mind or anything right?"_**

**_ "I will be back in several hours to claim her. Make sure that she is cleaned up but untouched or I will use your own intestines to strangle you with." _**

**_ "I get the message, no one will touch her. But why don't you just take her with you now? I mean you already paid for her."_**

**_"I have something to take care of in demon world first, which will give time for the transformation to finish itself and for the Doctor to administer any last tests he needs to give."_**

**_"Alright, suit yourself."_**

"Hn" was all Hokin heard until he noticed that his attacker was moving to stand in front of him.__

_Good, now I can finally see the bastards face…_

But when he felt the blade come full circle in front of him, there was nothing there.

_What the fuck? _He thought as he slowly looked down and saw the pint sized demon in front of him.

The guy was tiny! Hokin would have laughed his ass off if it hadn't been for the look in the guys eyes.

They were Red. 

_Demon eyes_

 They were like a void of deadly hatred. There was NOTHING else in them and Hokin felt himself go cold as he felt the guys' aura. It was just like Riosuke's, a darkness that pressed all around him, but worse. He felt like he was drowning in it.

"Take me to Riosuke's slave."

The command broke through his haze and Hokin blinked. 

"Wha? Why the hell would you want her? She's just-YOOWW!" Hokin yelped as the sword cut deeper into his neck."

"Alright! Ill take you." 

Gingerly he led the demon who now moved behind him again, all the while trying to lean his neck as far away from that sharp instrument as possible. After what seemed like forever they reached the door to the Screening Room.

"Here you go man. Just a sec and Ill punch in the code for y-"

He didn't finish his sentence as the sword suddenly left his neck and the door fell open.

_He cut the door? I didn't even see him fucking move! Wait, maybe I can get the fuck out of here…_

_'Don't even think about it.'_

But the voice Hokin heard was in his head, and suddenly the darkness was closing in on him again and he was drowning in it. Mentally he screamed before everything turned to nothing.

Hiei covered his Jagan with his white bandana as he glanced at the unconscious slave trader. He wouldn't wake up for awhile, which would give Hiei plenty of time to see the slave that Riosuke was so interested in.

_And it will be an added twist of the knife to the one that I will bury in the bastards heart when I take her… _

Hiei's smirk deepened as he stepped through the door.

Immediately he could feel light traces of fire demon energy in the room, left over from that bastard Riosuke. At some point the demon had become angry and his power had risen. Hiei could almost taste it like the air had been burned.

_Maybe his slave wasn't being all that cooperative_, Hiei snickered darkly. He knew what the demon was like with his women, and was surprised to find no lingering scent of sex in the room. It was odd that he had not taken her yet, since Riosuke always liked to employ some sort of torture to his games of seduction.

Sensing that the human was in the corner to his left, Hiei stepped further into the room and turned to face the slave.

_Hn__, how pathetic._

The girl was huddled up in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest, her head ducked under her arms and shielded by a curtain of golden brown hair.

From what he could see, she was naked and her form was trembling slightly. He could smell the fear coming off of her in waves.

Riosuke wanted this, a trembling human? 

"Get up." He ordered.

The girl instantly stopped trembling and he was almost certain that she had stopped breathing as well, her body became so still.

Slowly she disentangled herself and moved to stand up, her head still bent and her face hidden by the fall of her long hair.

Briefly he noticed that she was not completely nude, but actually dressed in black garments that hid very little. Her form was exceptional for a human, trim and athletic with creamy pale skin, softly curving hips and large breasts that swelled inside of her bra.

Hiei noticed all of this clinically without any real interest. She was still a human after all.

_But she reminds you of her…_

Hiei squashed the thought before it even had a chance to fully form itself. Slightly irritated, he addressed the slave.

"So you are Riosuke's slave. Well you belong to me now and you will do whatever I tell you to, understood."

It wasn't a question and Hiei watched as the girl started to tremble again.

_She probably thinks that I am going to bed her. Hn, I have no such uses-._

Suddenly the girl's right hand shot out, aiming for his face and Hiei reacted instantly and caught her wrist. Her smell had changed to something peculiar, but Hiei barely noticed as shock coursed through him.

Because the slave had dropped to her knees, her head lifting to show a lovely pale face with striking brown eyes filled with fury.

Hauntingly familiar eyes…

Before he realized it, her name escaped his lips in a haunted whisper.

"Keiko?"

Keiko had felt the power flare up somewhere else in the compound. The feeling was dark and strong and it reached out for her, like a whisper in her mind. It was as if it were something she was supposed to recognize but couldn't.

Then it had subsided, but she could still feel it somewhere in the back of her skull.

It was getting closer.

_Had Riosuke decided to come back for her?_ Keiko wondered, shivering at the thought.

No, the power that she had sensed felt somewhat like Riosukes', but there was also something different in it, something she couldn't place. However Keiko could recognize that whatever was coming was coming to _her._

And the fact that she could actually sense this was scaring the living shit out of her.

Suddenly the door literally fell open as it crashed to the ground. The power that she had felt flared to life again for a moment, and Keiko felt something inside of her try to answer. Clamping her eyes shut, Keiko huddled herself in the corner of the bed, willing herself not to respond.

What is wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way? Who is it, why are they here for me?

She could hear achingly loud footsteps as they slowly came to stand directly in front of her.

"Get up." A stern voice commanded and Keiko complied, but kept her face down and hidden.

She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to see the new nightmare that she was about to begin.

"So you are Riosuke's slave. Well, you belong to me now and you will do whatever I tell you to, understood."

It wasn't a question. It was a command. Another man was taking her freedom, telling her that she was His, and that there was nothing she could do about it.

Something inside of Keiko snapped and she struck out with all of her fury.

She didn't care if they killed her, she didn't care anymore if she couldn't escape…

…but they would not make her a slave.

Her wrist was caught and Keiko looked up as she dropped to her knees, defeated, so that her capture could see her hatred and the fury that seemed to _burn_ inside her.

The first thing she saw were crimson eyes staring widely at her. The color was incredibly vibrant and so clear that all Keiko could think about for a brief instant was how beautiful they were. For a moment she was simply lost in them.

Then she heard her name being said softly and it was if she snapped out of a daze.

Suddenly she recognized the eyes that she was looking into.

"H-Hiei?" she breathed, as her brain raced with a million thoughts, trying to cope with what she was seeing.

It was _him_. The short tempered, anti social fire demon that had fought beside Yusuke countless times on their missions. The demon who always snorted when someone tried to include or compliment him, herself included. The one who was always strangely protective of Yukina and endlessly baited Kuwabara. The one who always silently watched her and the others…

Keiko watched as the shock slowly left his face and he knelt to the ground in front of her. Suddenly she _knew…_

_She was safe_

A tidal wave of relief crashed through her so suddenly that she became sick with it and did something unthinkable. Keiko flung herself into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder, trembling violently as all of the trauma and stress poured out of her.

She never thought to question her actions, didn't care to realize that she had never been this close to the youkai in her entire life.

Instead she clung to him like a lifeline, breathing him in like he was the only real thing left in the world.

Because_ he_ was there.

He had saved her.

At first he couldn't move, couldn't speak, when he realized who it was that was in front of him.

Keiko was Riosuke's slave.

The thought echoed through him, sinking in and swirling with a thousand others raging through his mind.

How in the hell had she gotten here? Where in the hell was Yusuke? How long had she been here?

Then she had flung herself at him and all coherent thought vanished from his mind in an instant.

NO ONE had ever embraced him before like this, not even Yukina, no one since his mother had ever gotten that close.

His first instinct was to push her away, to reject the unwarranted familiarity and warmth of her body. So he brought his hands up to her arms, but instead of pushing her away, his hands hesitantly started to stroke along the outside of her arms. It seemed to soothe the girls violent trembling and soon his hands moved to her back, almost as if they had a will of their own.

_Why the hell am I doing this? Why the fuck should I care if Keiko is the slave?_ He questioned, trying not to notice how soft her skin was.

_You know why… _came a dark reply from deep within.

Hiei killed the image that was trying to form itself in his mind and brought himself back under control.

This was Not happening, not right then.

Leaning back from her, Keiko instantly got the message and unwrapped herself from around him. As she pulled back Hiei remembered her state of dress and quickly took off his cloak and put it around her.

 "Thank you Hiei." She said quietly, her eyes overly bright from unshed tears. Hiei  knew that she meant it for more than just the cloak and simply nodded once.

_"Sir…"_

Hiei cocked his head slightly as Shorin spoke to him telepathically.

"_What is it?"_

_"All of the guards in the compound have been disabled, all of them human, no casualties. There are no other demons on site. There were no slaves found anywhere in the compound, however, we did find what appears to be a Doctor in one of the rooms. When we captured him he started to scream about not taking the girl. Do you know what he meant by that sir?"_

Hiei looked at Keiko's confused face. 

_Don't take the girl? Keiko was the only slave in the compound?_

Hiei looked away and scowled. This whole thing felt wrong and it was beginning to really irritate him. He did _not_ like being unsure of what was going on.

_"Take the Doctor and another that I have unconscious in front of the main room in the east wing to Koenma's Palace. I will take the slave that I found elsewhere as bait for Riosuke. Make absolutely no mention of her to Koenma, understood?"_

_"Yes sir."_

"Hiei?" Came the hesitant question next to him. Hiei turned to face her once more. She was now standing and clutching at his cloak nervously. He could see that due to their height difference the cloak looked like a very short dress on her, still allowing a long line her creamy legs to be viewed. 

_Beautiful_…came the thought before he could catch it. Grunting in annoyance at the fact that his eyes lingered a little, Hiei unceremoniously grabbed her wrist and began pulling her through the door

"Were leaving." He informed her gruffly. 

She didn't protest, but Hiei noticed when she paused as they passed the unconscious form of the slave trader. Something passed through her eyes but he couldn't tell what it was.

_Had something happened to her? _

Hiei continued to lead Kieko through the compound until they reached outside. He couldn't afford to waste time at the moment. He would get his answers later.

Once they reached outside the compound, Hiei turned to her and hooked one arm under her legs and the other behind her back and picked her up.

The girl squeaked in surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck for balance causing Hiei to suppress a smirk. Then without warning he began sprinting at high speed through the forest surrounding the compound.

As he increased his speed he felt rather than heard her gasp as she clung to him in fright and buried her face in his neck. Grunting, Hiei tried to ignore the feel of her warm breath on his neck and increased his speed even more.

He needed to reach to portal to demon world soon. He was confused about the whole damn situation and that only served to piss him off more than he already was at finding out that Riosuke was gone and that Keiko was his slave.

He wanted answers _now_.

So he would take them to the Makai forest and he would make sure that Keiko gave him what he wanted.

They reached their destination in only a matter of minutes and Keiko was almost disappointed when Hiei put her down to stand on her own.

The incredible speed with which he ran had at first terrified her enough to bury her face in him, trying to escape the knowledge that they were high off the ground and that he could drop her at any moment.

But he never dropped her, and as she buried her face in his neck she noticed a few things.

The first was that he was as graceful as he was strong. His arms held her like supports of steel as they soared through the trees. Keiko wasn't jostled around like she thought she would be, and became amazed at how smoothly the demon traveled. 

_It was almost like flying..._

And as she began to relax and actually enjoy the ride, she began to notice his scent. Her face was pushed up against his neck and as she breathed it was so strong it was almost intoxicating. It was hard to describe. He smelled like the forest and something warm and spicy and Keiko found herself deliberately breathing him in.

_His skin is warm…and He smells really good…better than Riosuke…_

Immediately Kieko blushed and retracted her thoughts

Whoa, what was she thinking? This was HIEI for Kami sake! What was with her and smelling demons tonight? Was it some weird side effect of becoming a demon?

This thought sobered her enough to turn her face away for the rest of the trip, but she still couldn't suppress the small twinge of regret when he put her down.

_Its_ _probably just because I am skittish since I'm actually out of that that place_, Kieko reasoned.

Steadying herself on the ground, she noticed that they were still in the middle of forest. Confused, she turned to Hiei to ask where they were.

"We are going to the Makai Forest for the night." He informed her before she could even open her mouth.

Kieko's eyes widened.

"The Makai?" Why are we going there? Can't you just take me home?"

Hiei walked over to the large tree behind her, ignoring her pleading look.

"You can't go home. Not yet. There are some answers that I want from you, like how in the hell you were stupid enough to get taken in the first place, and the Makai forest is the best place to go for the time being so that Bastard Riosuke can't track us."

Keiko bristled at being called stupid and opened her mouth to retort when what he said sank in.

Riosuke could come back and track her down! He wasn't going to let her go easily, not after it had taken so long to find someone like her.

Keiko cast a furtive glance at Hiei as felt for something on the tree.

_He doesn't appear to know that I'm turning into a demon…Riosuke said that he could smell it in me…was that a lie?_

 But Keiko didn't have long to ponder this as Hiei touched a knot on the tree and a door like space filled with green light opened up. 

Keiko stared apprehensively at the opening for a moment before Hiei made a frustrated noise and grabbed her hand. The feel of his warmth grounded her somewhat and she squared her shoulders a little before taking a step towards Hiei and following him through the portal.

As they drowned themselves in the green light, Keiko instantly felt the weightlessness surround her and the sinking feeling that she was falling into nothing. This caused her to panic slightly and she grabbed onto the only solid thing she had, Hiei.

She felt the safety of his arms encircle her as they drifted through and she instantly felt better.

As soon as her feet touched solid ground on the other side, she quickly jumped back from the demon in embarrassment, ducking her head so that he hopefully would not see her blush. That was the third time in one night that she had been held in the youkai's arms and while she relished the feeling of safety that it brought, she couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't shoved her away or threatened to kill her if she ever did something like that again. He always threatened death to anyone that came close to touching him without his permission. Still… she couldn't just apologize for her actions because she was sure that it would come out sounding horribly lame.

"We'll stay here for the night." Hiei said, moving to a clearing next to them.

Keiko followed close behind, trying not to crowd him but not wanting to be too far away. They stopped in the clearing and she could tell that it was used from time to time, as there were signs of a fire pit in the center of several large boulders.

Hiei started gathering branches and wood surrounding the camp to make a fire with and Keiko rested against one of the boulders and looked at the sky.

The night here was like ink, the only light in the sky were two moons, one red and one blue that floated side by side. But their light seemed to become absorbed by the forest around her and she shivered as she felt the first stings of cold hit her bare legs.

Suddenly light flared in front of her and Keiko turned to see Hiei holding his hand outstretched over a very healthy sized flame. The warmth instantly reached her and she scooted closer, eager to warm herself.

Hiei came and sat on a rock a little ways to the right of her and folded his arms.

"Ok, now you are going to answer some questions. Starting with how you let yourself be captured by those bastards." He said firmly and she could have sworn that he was agitated.

Kieko sighed and explained what happened with Hokin at the club and how she woke up in the compound. She left out the parts about Hokins threats of molesting her and the Doctors sick experiment. If she could, than she was going to come out of this without anyone knowing what they did to her.

She _would_ return to her normal life.

Hiei listened incredulously as Keiko recounted how she had been taken by the slave traders. He barely managed to keep the emotion from showing in his face as anger threatened to roll through him.

She had made herself and easy target. Going off to one of those human meat markets alone, making herself a prime pick for one of those bastards. 

But something else about this also bothered him.

"Where was the idiot Detective? Why wasn't he there with you when you went to this place?" He demanded coolly.

The girl in front of him instantly tensed and cast her eyes downward before bringing them back up to meet his challengingly.

"We broke up a few months ago and decided that it would be best for both of us if we didn't see each other at all for awhile. Last I knew He was off doing some kind of training with Genkai."

"Hn." The Detective had always been getting into arguments with the human girl, and from what he knew they never stayed apart long.

But why had she been the only one there? And why had Riosuke wanted her, a human? He hated humans as much as Hiei did if not more and something about this was eating at his senses.

"Did the demon who bought you do anything to you?" He asked bluntly.

Keiko stilled completely, one hand unconsciously going up to touch the right side of her neck underneath her hair.

Suddenly seeming aware of the Demon watching her intently, Keiko quickly removed her hand.

"No. He tried to see if he could get me to kiss him of my own free will, but when I refused he left, saying that he would be back in a few hours."

Her tone was sincere, but Hiei could easily tell that she was lying. She was to used to being open about everything with people. She was hiding something. He had seen the unconscious gesture she had made, but for some reason she did not want to reveal something.

Why in the hell would Riosuke buy a slave and not bed her, why-

_Your not leaving already are you? I thought that you would still be having fun with the girl…_

_I have something to take care of in demon world first, which will give time for the transformation to finish itself and for the Doctor to administer any last tests he needs to give…_

Suddenly something clicked in Hiei's mind and he looked at Kieko suspiciously.

"What?" she asked when he didn't relent his stare.

"What did Riosuke do to you?"  He asked in a deadly calm voice as he stood up and slowly advanced on her.

"N-nothing. After his little game he left, saying that he would come back for me. That's all."

Fear permeated her scent; along with something else that he had barely notice before, something that only heightened his suspicions and his anger.

_Don't scare her even more, _some distant voice said within him, but Hiei growled inwardly and ignored it.

 She was trying to hide from him and it was awakening his predator instincts in his agitated state. If she wouldn't tell him than he would take the answer from her.

Dropping to the ground in front of her , Hiei captured her chin in his hand and tilted her face upward, holding her startled eyes with his own, his face close enough to her own that her breath fanned his skin.

"Your lying, I can smell it. Tell me, did he _BITE_ you Kieko?" He asked silkily.

For a moment she just stared at him like a frozen deer and his suspicions were confirmed when she suddenly bolted to her feet and tried to distance herself from him.

Faster than her, Hiei hooked and arm around her waist and forcefully brought her to the ground, using his other arm to imprison her back against his chest. Kieko gasped and started to struggle.

Growling darkly he said "Hold still, I am not going to hurt you, but since you insisted on lying to me than this is the only way.

"Hiei I-" Keiko began but stopped when Hiei he tugged his cloak down around her bare shoulder, lifted her hair away from her neck and brought his nose to her skin, inhaling deeply.

Kieko gasped again but Hiei ignored it as he concentrated on her scent. Searching with his nose, he nuzzled her neck until he found what he was looking for.

Her scent was warm and musky, like vanilla, but there was also something else there, something underneath it that made an indescribable rage flow through Hiei.

Riosuke had given Keiko the first mark of possession.

The bastard had_ marked _her.

 Hiei tried to control himself, but he was unable to move from the spot on her neck where the bastard had branded her. He continued to breathe her in, her scent thick and intoxicating to his senses. He knew that he should stop now that he had found what he had suspected, but he couldn't make himself move for some reason. Riosuke's scent subtly mixed through Kieko's and this stirred an overwhelming desire in Hiei to remove it and replace it with his own...

What am I doing?... I've got to stop… she's just a human…she belongs to the detective….she-

… _She is_ _the one that you have craved since that night…_

The voice was there again, resurfacing from the depths of his darkest thoughts to taunt him. 

_…now she is in your arm and she doesn't fear you…smell her…she wants you…_

Amazed, Hiei realized that indeed her scent held no fear, but instead an increasing arousal. Keiko had relaxed into his hold and this caused the last of his resistance to vanish. Growling low in his throat in approval, Hiei nuzzled the hollow in between her neck and shoulder, relishing in the feel of her skin.  The heat in his blood was steadily increasing, sending a pleasurable feeling through his veins.

The girl in his arms moaned softly and Hiei felt a hand hesitantly thread itself through his hair. 

 "H-Hiei?" 

Her voice was light and breathy and it caused Hiei's body to burn even hotter than before. Hiei responded by slowly flicking his tongue over the spot where Riosuke had marked her, satisfying his desire and replacing the demons scent with his own.

Keiko scent spiked and she gasped, arching into him to allow further access to her neck.

But Hiei had stopped cold, his eyes shooting open in shock as he felt an ice like cold steal over him.

Because when her scent had spiked, even in his aroused haze, he had suddenly detected something that was impossible, something that should never have been capable of being conceived.

_ The Doctor kept screaming something about not taking the girl…do you know what he meant by that sir?…_

He did.__

He could smell it now, the thing that had been tugging at the back of his consciousness since he had found her. Something that had somehow been hidden before but was now so strong that he could not mistake it. 

A demon. 

They had made Keiko into a demon.

And not just any demon.

Now he understood why Riosuke had chosen her, why she had been the only slave there.

_That is why I lost control when I smelled her..._

That bastard had made her into something that he otherwise would have never found in a century.

"A Fire Demon."

*heres a pic that I did just for you guys ^_^  (remove the spaces)http: // www.fanart-central.net / imageboard/general/src/1081509898307.jpg

**POST NOTE* I promised waff action and I hope I delivered adequately enough. ^_^Please let me know if you thought that Hiei was completely ooc, because I had a tough time writing that part. I already have the next chapter planned out, and there will be explanations and Lots of citrusy flavors!**


	8. Trip to the palace

**Authors note Im baaaaack! Im so, so incredibly sorry that it took me so long to update. The reason is that I took a break after school and it just kind of kept extending itself…he. I promise not to do that again, but if you still feel that I am taking too long, feel free to flame me at my e-mail address. A few death threats always give me the proper motivation to write.**

**Now be warned, this chapter is like epic story long, and I still didn't fit everything that I wanted to in it, so im working on the next chappie as we speak. So take a potty break and grab some chips before you start, since it may take you awhile.**

**Oh yeah, I don't own yu yu hakusho or any of its characters except for my own and blah blah blah……**

Keiko was incredibly _hot._

When Hiei had grabbed her, it was obvious that he was looking for where Riosuke bit her and nothing more.

But as soon as he made contact with her neck, a spark of heat lit itself in her skin and only intensified the more he nuzzled her. It snaked through her body in such a rush of unexpected pleasure that Keiko couldn't control her gasp.

_I shouldn't feel this way…not with Hiei…I shouldn't…_

But rational thought soon stopped and left her brain completely as her body took over and Keiko began relishing in the feel of his warm breath on her neck and his strong arms wrapped around her.

Her skin had somehow become extremely hyper sensitive, for each time Hiei's lips would brush over her it sent a warm tingle through her body, increasing an ache that had started low in her abdomen.

Then Hiei had stopped his search and for a moment irrationally she was afraid that he would pull away and put an end to this wonderful feeling, until she heard a low growl go through his chest and he returned his lips to her neck, causing her to moan.

Everything he was doing was causing the ache within Kieko to travel lower, to_ grow_, making her want-_something_….

Frustrated, Kieko blindly reached out with a hand and buried it in his hair.

_His hair…it's so soft…_

For some reason she had always thought that it would be coarse with how it stood up, but the way it felt as her hand sifted through it was more like soft fur.

Wanting, needing more, Kieko tried to vocalize her plea, but all that came out was his name. But Hiei must have understood her because then she felt his breath fan her neck before she felt his warm tongue make a slow, achy glide up her throat.

The heat inside her spiked intensely and she was_ burning_.

But slowly, as the heat inside her abated, she realized that Hiei had stopped and was now very still.

Rational thought making its comeback, Kieko wasted no time becoming embarrassed at their situation and her reaction. _Oh-oh god! I've become a super slut! With Hiei! _Giving a huge mental eep, Keiko was preparing to bolt out of the demons arms and straight to the nearest hole in the ground when she heard Hiei speak.

Unable to make out his words, Kieko scrunched up her nose in confusion. What did he say?

"A demon." His voice was distant and it sent an odd shiver down Keiko's spine.

Curiosity chasing away her embarrassment, Keiko turned to see Hiei focus on her with intense eyes.

"You're a demon now." His face was unreadable and for some reason Kieko couldn't look away from his eyes. She felt like an animal frozen by the knowledge of its impending doom.

Swallowing hard, she tried to think of something to say, but was interrupted by a rather loud beeping coming from the vicinity of Hiei's groin.

Kieko's eyes dropped to the area the noise had come from. Eh? Can_ they_ do that-?.....AH HENTAI KEIKO!!!

While Keiko was mentally bleaching her brain, Hiei silently released her and stood up, withdrawing a small communicator from his pants pocket, his _side _pocket.

This caused Keiko to pause from her mental tirade as she eyed the object in the demons hand. Isn't that a spirit world communicator? Hiei is working for Koenma?

She turned her gaze to Hiei as he flipped open the tiny compact to glare at the speaker on the other end. Sure enough, from where she was sitting she could make out the teen image of the Rakaii ruler on the small s

Keiko's stomach dropped. Oh no, not Koenma! He'll find out for sure, and then everyone will know and I-

Just then Hiei looked from the corner of his eye at her and she _knew _that he was going to tell Koenma what had happened.

Panic filling her heart, Keiko listened in agony as the Koenma's voice rang out surprisingly loud in the small clearing.

"HIEI! I gave you this communicator for a reason! Keika and Shorin arrived with the captives over two hours ago and you have yet to report! When I give you an assignment you're supposed to follow all of the orders, including reporting back to me when the job is finished! You- eh?-"

By now Koenma must have noticed the silent glare that Hiei was giving him, and Keiko could hear him clear his throat uneasily.

"You didn't tell me that they were experimenting on the slaves." His voice was low and calm, but something underneath caused Keiko to shiver. It was like watching a caged panther. As long as it was held captive you knew you were safe, but the thought that it might be unleashed was always there…

Koenma's voice came through, slightly strained, but still firm. "That was not a factor that you needed to concern yourself with Hiei. All you needed to do was detain the slave trader and deal with Riosuke if he decided to show up. Frankly, I didn't think the fact that they were experimenting on the slaves was something you would even care about."

Kieko blinked and looked at Hiei. He didn't say anything but she noticed his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I don't. But you are about to. If you want your report, send a transport within the next hour." With that he simply clicked the communicator shut and turned slightly, looking at her with hard eyes.

"They will be here soon, so do not leave the clearing." He commanded and then turned away from her again and Keiko got the distinct impression that she was being _dismissed._

And then with a small rush of air he jumped up into a tall nearby tree, far enough to where she couldn't see the expression on his face.

Exhausted, Kieko slumped against a nearby bolder and watched the fire in front of her as she tried to ignore the constricting feeling in her chest.

He said that he didn't care about the experiments on the slaves...did that mean that he didn't care about her?

Keiko snorted at her own stupidity. Hiei wouldn't care about her, a human-well,_ former_ human. He didn't care about anyone save Yukina. And why should she care? Yes she and the others had always tried to include him, but they had always been coldly rejected. They had never come close to getting past his wall of hostility.

_Except for that night he came to your window_….a small voice whispered, but Keiko shoved it away. That incident happened over a year ago and that had been the only time she had seen the fire apparition let down his icy wall. He had disappeared shortly after, so Keiko did not believe that he had ever repeated his lapse.

But it had been a rather interesting encounter, and Keiko had to admit that it had caused her to think about the fire demon quite a bit during the days that followed.

But that didn't matter now. Whether or not he cared about what happened to her didn't matter either, as well as the reason for him being there in the fist place. He had saved her, and that was what counted.

_So what happened just now…?_

Well that was obvious. Apparently the species of demon that the freaky doctor had turned her into was a rare breed of slut, and every time she came in contact with anything male her libido decided to take the wheel of her body's' reactions.

Burrowing deeper into the cloak, Keiko unwittingly took in a deep breath of the Fire Demons scent. It was incredibly dark and musky and instantly the abating ache inside her painfully flared to life again. The feel of Hiei's tongue making an achy glide up her throat flashed through her mind and Kieko bit her lip to hold back a groan.

_Oh, gods, this is bad. Not with Hiei! Ok, relax, its nothing major, your just going through odd, crazy hormonal changes, that's it- Hormone changes! And they will probably go away before the night is even over, so it-s not like your actually **Attracted** to him, because, um, hormones!_

After several minutes of alternating between being achy whenever she breathed in the smell of him and then trying to delude herself that it wasn't her fault, Keiko winced and sighed. Ooookay, now was the time to be honest with herself, because afterwards, for the sake of her dignity she would live in blissful self delusion for the rest of her life.

The ugly, horribly shameful truth was-She had enjoyed it. Even though she had been on the market to be a sex slave only hours earlier, she had wanted him to touch her. It had started like it had with Riosuke, with that warm feeling igniting every time his skin touched hers, but somehow….it had gone _deeper_, been _hotter _with Hiei.

_So was that me…or the hormones?_

_Well, it doesn't matter if I was attracted to him of my own violation or not because what had just happened is NEVER happening again._

_But then_…Kieko frowned as she looked up at the shadow that lurked in the tree above her.

_Why did _he_ touch me?_

_And what am I going to do when every one finds out what ive become…_

Sometime later Keiko walked a little unsteadily down the enormous entry way to Koenma's office. Having never had the privilege to go to the Rekaii palace herself, Keiko normally would have stared in awe and wonder at the sights around her if it weren't for the fact that her stomach weren't still doing somersaults. She hated flying, and doing it hundreds of feet in the air above the ground at breakneck speeds was _not _an improvement.

But all too soon Kieko felt sick for an entirely different reason. Their guide had brought them to the enormous doors of Koenma's.

Self consciously Keiko desperately felt like hiding, horrifyingly aware that Hiei's cloak didn't hide as much as she would have preferred.

Well, At least Yusuke and the others aren't here to see this…

Lifting her chin, and squaring her shoulders, Kieko defiantly stared at the opening door in front of her. She had been through a lot tonight, and she wasn't about to act like the coward now.

There was a flash light so bright that it caused Kieko to squint and then she recognized the sight of Koenma lazily sucking his pacifier at his desk.

Hiei stepped in front of her, hands slightly fisted at his sides.

"Ah Hiei, so glad that you could make it. Tell me, is this a new look for you?" Koenma asked, obviously referring to the fact that Hiei wasn't wearing his cloak or a shirt.

Hiei just stood there, not even grunting a hn. It must have had the desired effect because soon Koenma was squirming under that stare.

"I see that you have brought someone with you. Am I to assume that this is a slave that you found at the compound?"

"She is."

Koenma nodded at the ferry girl standing next to Hiei. "Ayame, go ahead and take the girl to suite 16 and have her fixed up. We shall be running some tests on her to see exactly what it is that mad doctor has accomplished."

"Aren't you going to ask the slaves name?" Hiei questioned in a mocking tone.

Koenma gave the fire demon an oddly confused look and addressed her, which consequently had him looking at her for the first time.

"Uh, yes, what is your—AAH, KEIKO??!!!"

"Hai, Koenma-sama?" Her voice was sure, but Keiko could feel a blush of shame tinge her cheeks.

Koenma was staring at her bug eyed, practically falling over his desk and she was mildly surprised that his pacifier did not fall out of his gaping mouth.

"You're the slave!!?? Wha-How did this happen??!!

Moving to answer, she was interrupted by Hiei's cold voice. "She was left unattended by the Detective and was captured."

Keiko's temper flared. Unattended? She wasn't Yusuke's dog for Kami's sake!!

Still stunned, Koenma flopped back into his chair. "And it's a good thing that he isn't here right now; otherwise he would go ballistic and start blasting the place down looking for the slave trader."

Kieko winced slightly. Yeah, that sounded like Yusuke.

Sighing heavily, Koenma once again focused on her. "Are you alright Keiko?"

For a moment, inexplicably, she was unable to answer. Was she alright? "I don't know Koenma-sama" she answered honestly and the Rekaii prince winced.

"Well let's get you taken care of first and well talk later. I am truly sorry that you had to go through something like this Keiko." He said sincerely.

Keiko felt an odd stinging behind her eyes but forced it back and began to follow Ayame out of the room.

But as she left Keiko felt an intense gaze on her back. Glancing covertly over her shoulder she found that Hiei was watching her with an unreadable expression on his face.

Again his eyes mercilessly held her and she felt the oddest longing to stay with him before the doors slid shut in front of her and effectively broke her trance.

Ayame gently placed a guiding hand on her shoulder and offered her a warm smile. "This way please. We have someone waiting to take a look at you, afterward you will be given the opportunity to clean up and rest. There should be a change of clothes waiting for you in the room."

Keiko nodded distractedly, the image of intense crimson eyes burned in her mind.

After a few minutes they seemed to reach the room where someone would be waiting for her. Feeling extremely nervous to be left alone with someone she wasn't familiar with, Keiko turned imploring eyes to the ferry girl standing next to her.

Ayame in turn smiled kindly. "Let me escort you in. I believe you will soon find yourself more at ease than you expected."

A little confused, Keiko hesitantly walked through the now open door, clutching Hiei's cloak around her like a safely net.

The room was like a human doctors office only a lot more comfortable looking. There was a rather large bed on one side of the room, surrounded by overstuffed chairs. The walls were a creamy peach and the lighting was pleasantly dim, creating a very relaxed atmosphere. On the wall opposite the bed there was a counter with a line of cabinets. Someone was working at the sink of the counter, their back turned to her, so that Keiko couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.

Pleasantly, Ayame addressed the stranger before turning to leave. "Sir, here is the girl who was captured by the slave traders. Koenma has requested that you take special care of her and allow her to rest as soon as you are done examining her."

At being addressed the man turned and Keiko gasped in shock at who she saw standing in front of her.

"Kurama?" Turning in surprise at having his name called, Kurama's eyes widened in shocked dismay upon realizing who was behind him.

"Kieko?! What on earth-oh inari, please tell me that _you_ are not the recaptured slave!?"

The girl in front of him said nothing; she just stood there, her hair and appearance disheveled, wearing nothing except what appeared to be a rather small cape (Hiei's?).

Taking a step closer to her, Kurama realized that Keiko was valiantly trying to fight back tears, causing her eyes to shine like broken jewels. Purposefully, Kurama closed the distance between them and gently took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, slowly turning her head from side to side.

I can see no immediate signs of external injury, but that does not mean that injury is not there… 

Unfortunately, Kurama was well aware of what happened to slaves in that particular market she had been put. Having to pass through such places in order to gather information as Youko Kurama, he had seen many horrific things that he prayed to god Keiko had not gone through.

Then, as he was closely inspecting her neck, he picked up something strange in her scent.

Worry creasing his brow, Kurama straightened and brought Keiko's eyes back to his.

"Keiko are you alright? Did they hurt you in any way?" He asked, concern lacing his tone. Immediately her eyes became downcast and anger flooded him as he read the unintentional answer.

"Hai, Kurama-chan. But I'm alright now." Surprised, watched as Keiko lifted her head and offered him a brave smile. Smiling gently in return, Kurama placed a hand on her shoulder. "You always were strong Kieko. Come; let's sit on the bed shall we? You must be exhausted."

As He followed her to the bed, Kurama quickly tried to pinpoint what it was that was off about her scent. He had been informed by Koenma about the experiments and the slave trader's attempts to turn humans into demons, but for what purpose, they had been unable to pry out of the doctor.

And unfortunately, it seems as though the doctor has succeeded in his task… 

Sitting on the bed next to Kieko, Kurama studied her carefully. _I can definitely smell the youkai in her scent, and there seems to be no outward change in her appearance, but aside from the fact that I cannot tell what type of demon they have made her into. Also, there is something else about her scent that is...off_

That is because your senses are so pathetic in this form Shuiichi 

Kurama gave an annoyed mental sigh as his alter ego surged forward in their shared consciousness. _Not now youko…_

Turning his attention back to Keiko, he noticed that she was fisting the material of Hiei's cloak in an almost protective fashion. This caused the anger unfurling within him to increase._To put such a soul as Keiko through such an ordeal_…

You always did have a soft spot for the girl Youko said slyly I value her friendship, nothing more Kurama replied sternly Are you certain that's all you value, Shuiichi? 

Kurama did not like where the kitsune's presumptions were heading. "Keiko, I am deeply sorry, but I need you to tell me what happened."

Keiko visibly flinched and clutched at the cloak even tighter. Kurama felt a wave of sympathy for his friend, but for her sake he had to persist.

"Keiko, I need to know if I am going to be of any help."

After a moment Keiko seemed to come to some sort of decision released the cloak to tensely fold her hands in her lap.

"I know Kurama-kun. It started when I was supposed to meet my friend Taki at a club I had never been to and…" Thus Keiko retold the events of her capture, of how the doctor had used the serum to change her and then concluded with Hiei coming to rescue her.

But as Keiko recounted her story, Kurama had noticed something strange. Keiko had kept her eyes averted from him, only to glance at him furtively from the corner of her eye when she thought that he wouldn't notice. Also, her hand had continually strayed to rub a spot on the right side of her neck absentmindedly, almost like someone would rub an old wound.

There were several odd points to her story as well. It seemed that there was a gap between her transformation and when she was rescued by Hiei.

And what of the buyer? The doctor had said that the demon that they would change her into was extremely rare. If I were to purchase something like that, I would want to be nearby to make sure that nothing went wrong, and yet Keiko says that she knows nothing about who she was sold to.

**_That is because she is lying, my dear Shuiichi._**

****

Unfortunately, Kurama was forced to agree with Youko. But what was she hiding, and why?

_I am positive that it has to do with the reason her scent is off, but I cannot detect it in my current form, and I am rather doubtful that keiko would be willing_ _to tell me._

So why not let me handle it? My sense of smell is much stronger than yours and you know that I can find what you want without having to use force. Besides, Its been ages since ive been in the company of a beautiful woman. You don't get laid nearly as much as you should.

Kurama growled darkly at the spirit fox. You will not touch her, do you understand me Youko? Keiko is a dear friend and I wont allow you to satisfy your lusts with her.

Why not, their your lusts as well. Don't try and pretend that you have never thought about it Shuiichi….I am you after all.

"Uh Kurama-kun? Are you alright?" Keiko asked, warm brown eyes were slightly filled with worry.

Realizing that he had been silent for some time, Kurama cleared his throat, his face turning somber.

"Keiko, im going to need to examine you a bit to make sure that you are alright and to see if there are any obvious side effects of the change. Besides" He interrupted when she began to protest, " Koenma has ordered it to be done in light of the situation. I apologize if my presence will make you uncomfortable, but I am afraid that there is no one else with the information that I have."

Once again Keiko's hand strayed to that spot on her neck and she chewed on her lip nervously. "A-alright Kurama-kun. I suppose that I would rather have a friend do this."

Kurama smiled kindly. "Don't worry, its only a superficial check and a simple blood test. Afterwards you can rest as much as you want, I promise."

Kieko simply nodded complacently and gave Kurama another small smile.

"Alright first I would like to check your neck where the Doctor injected you, to make sure there are no signs of a coming infection?"

Keiko visibly stiffened, but nodded again nonetheless. Slowly, so as not to scare her, Kurama lifted her long hair away from her neck and shifted closer. With great care, he gently tilted her head to the side so that the long column of her throat was exposed. The skin was smooth and unblemished, causing Kurama to pause. So, regenerative properties have already manifested within her… Leaning in closer for a better look, Kurama once again caught the strangeness of her scent, much stronger now that he was closer to her.

_It smells familiar…but I cannot place It. _Frustrated, Kurama unconciously shifted even closer to Keiko, causing part of his upper body to touch hers.__

**Im sure I could tell you what it was…but you will have to let me out...**

No.

**Be realistic Suichii, im not going to hurt the girl, infact, I rather like her…**

That's precisley the problem. She doesn't need your advances right now and frankly neither do I.

**Tsk, tsk, you know that your not going to find out what she is without the doctor telling you, which he does not seem inclined to do so. And what if her condition is harmful to her if left unattended? You have no idea exactly what they did to her, or what it could do to her. Do you really want to risk her safety Shuichii?**

Kurama clenched his jaw painfully.

You bastard youko…alright, but I am warning you, if you do anything to her-

**You'll what, kill me? and coincidentally, kill Yourself? Don't worry Shuichii, I will be the perfect gentleman.**

See to it that you are Youko, Kurama thought darkly as he took a mental step back and allowed Youko's presence to surge most of the way forward and take control of their shared body.

**Kurama felt Youko smirk as he placed light hands on Keikos shoulders and pulled her closer.**

"Kurama, what are you-"

"Shh" Youko soothed softly. "It's alright little one. Ive noticed something on your neck that you have been trying to hide. Now why would you want to do that I wonder. Lets find out, shall we?" Not allowing the girl in his arms time to react, he brought his nose in close contact with her skin and inhaled deeply.

Closing his eyes, Youko immediately registered the scent of two males on her neck.**_"_****Hmm, now that is certainly interesting. It seems that our little human is quite the vixen.**

Now is not the time to be vague Youko, Kurama said impatiently.

**Two demons, fire apparitions, have come into close contact with the girl. One gave her the first mark, and the other marked her with his scent.**

So that's why she was rubbing her neck. The mark must have come from the one who bought her, and that would mean that she did find out who that was. So why did she try to conceal it? And the other fire apparition…could that have been--

Suddenly Keiko stirred, trying to twist her head to look at Kurama, and effectively interrupted the suppressed human Kurama's realization.

"K-Kurama, w-what are you doing?" Keiko obviously did not realize that it was actually the legendary Youko that was holding her since he had remained in the form of Suiichi, and Kurama thought it best to keep it that way to keep from scaring her.

We need to release her soon…Youko, are you able to identify the species that she has been transformed into?

**And I was just beginning to enjoy the feel of her…**

Now Youko!

The kitsune chuckled and gently nudged Keiko's face to the side to keep her neck exposed. Again she went still from shock and the spirit fox took full advantage and breathed in deeply.

But this time the oddity of her scent registered the same instant his blood suddenly scorched. Kurama caught a glimpse of recognition before it was overwhelmed by flash of heated lust filling both of their senses. Abruptly, Youko slammed a barrier against him and forced Kurama into a mental prison.

What is the meaning of this!? Let me out Youko!! Kurama tried to force his way through the mental blockade, but found it to be too strong to break.

But Youko wasn't listening to his human half's protests, having taken complete control over their body; he couldn't even hear him anymore. Youko let the change overcome his body as he aggressively pinned Keiko to his chest.

The trapped Kurama balked at the turn Youko's intentions were taking and began trying to force his way through the mental blockade, but found it to be too strong to break.

What was happening? He had always known that the fox spirit was prone to lusty adventures, but he also exercised self control when needed and never imposed where his affections weren't wanted. And even though he had expressed a slight interest in Keiko, Kurama knew that it was not enough to make him go back on his word not to harm her.

And his affections are definitely unwanted Kurama observed as Keiko began to struggle in the kitsune's arms. In response Youko leaned back so that he could look at his captive, and smiled as her eyes widened incredously when she recognized him.

"You're not Kurama," she said shakily, her warm brown eyes taking on a hint of fear.

Youko only smirked and pressed her closer to him as he dipped his head back down to breath in more of her. Her scent was intoxicating, like a drug, and the more he breathed in, the hotter he became. All of his sensed seemed to go into hyper focus. He knew that there was a reason for why he felt this way so suddenly, but having been repressed for so long, he didn't care. He was going to take what he wanted and right then he wanted her; hot, sweaty and panting beneath him.

Meanwhile, within his imposed voyeurism, Kurama could feel everything that Youko did in a sort of detached state. Unexplainable lust pounded through the kitsune's body, causing his thoughts to become disjointed. This more than anything alerted Kurama to the fact that something was horribly wrong, since Youko never lost this much control.

And it seems to only get worse the more he takes in her scent…and with Youko unable to hear me, I can only pray that someone will find us before he does something that both of us will dearly regret…

"Let-let me go!!" Keiko protested, trying to free herself from the demons embrace. He, unfortunately, had other plans. Running one hand down the curvy line of her body, Youko gently nipped at her ear, breathing hotly against her skin. "Not yet…not until I have tasted every last inch of you, my little vixen." He promised.

Meanwhile, Hiei was balefully staring at the Rekaii prince. He had just given him the details of Keiko's rescue and was anxious to leave. He was on edge from the night's events and the hold on his temper was suffering for it.

"I can't believe that Keiko was the one that Hokkin captured." The Koenma mumbled incredously to himself. It was obvious that the Prince was at a loss about what happened, just as Hiei knew he would be.

"Where is that fool Yusuke anyway? It's his fault for letting his mate attend one of those human flesh markets unattended in the first place."

Koenma sighed. "He started to undergo special training from Genkai about a month ago and will be gone for at least another two months. She has hidden their location from everyone, including myself, so that it will not be disturbed. According to her, Yusuke and Keiko split for keeps this time, and she does not want anything to distract Yusuke during his training, especially Keiko."

Hiei scowled in thought. Hn. So Yusuke has chosen the makai over the human…

"It's may be a good thing that Yusuke will be gone for some time…but at least Kurama came back and will be able to help with the situation." Koenma continued absently.

Hiei raised an eyebrow. " Kurama has returned?"

Koenma nodded, sitting up straight in his chair. "Yes, I had just finished debriefing him when I received your communication saying that you had captured a slave. We had been unsuccessful so far in our attempts to gain information from Hokin or the Doctor, so I was going to question Kurama on if he could provide a truth serum in order to find out

why type of demon they were trying to create and why."

"You should try torture, which usually gets more interesting results." Hiei suggested coldly.

Koenma ignored him and frowned. "Perhaps, but when you gave the information that you had the slave, I decided to use Kurama instead to examine the human to find out the nature of the results. Since he knows a lot about poisons and their side effects, as well as having extensive knowledge about the different species of demons, he was an ideal choice on such short notice. Right now he should be examining Keiko and-"

"What?!"

Koenma blinked in surprise at the fire demons uncharacteristic outburst. "Kurama is examining Keiko, and once he is finished he will hopefully be able to provide some answers for us."

Hiei painfully clenched his fists to keep from killing the Rekaii heir as anger washed him. "Where. Are. They?" He bit out.

Surprised and horribly confused, Koenma sputtered. "Suite 16, ten doors down the hall, but why-"

But Koenma didn't finish as Hiei abruptly turned towards the hallway too leave. He

didn't have time for the fools inane babbling, but stubbornly, Koenma followed him.

"Hiei, I demand to know what's going on. Why are you running?" Hiei paused for a moment and cast an amazingly cold glare at the prince. "You had better hope that I get there in time, because if I don't, your precious human friend is quite possibly about to be used in the way that Riosuke had first intended."

Koenma blanched. "What?!! Are you out of your mind? Kurama would never do anything like that to Keiko!"

"No, Kurama wouldn't, But Youko will if he gets close enough to breathe in her scent."

Hiei flexed his fists at his sides, attempting to dampen the angry energy that was rising with each passing second. He needed to get there. _Now_.

"I think that Youko could control himself around a female, even if he did get out." Koemna said condescendingly.

Fire flared in Hiei's eyes for a moment, causing Koenma to jump in fear. "Not if Keiko happens to be a _female_ fire apparition and he gets within half a foot of her. And I believe examining her will bring him much closer than that, don't you." He growled darkly before turning back to the hallway, leaving a stunned Koenma behind.

Realization and horror slowly overcame the prince and he suddenly broke into a run himself to catch up.

_A female fire apparition…Creatures that are nearly nonexistent, largely due to the fact that they are only born every hundred years or so and are usually caught and sold in the slave markets.__ Once they have reached maturity, they are kept secluded by their captures due to the highly potent pheromones that their body heat produces. If Keiko truly is a fire apparition now…kami help her…_

**POST NOTE Whew, you made it through! Now if you don't hate me too much, could you please review? I promise those things make me write faster. Anyway, major explanations next chappie, and more citrus! And yes it will be from Hiei and no there will not be a Hiei/keiko/kurama love triangle and yes Riosuke will make another appearance as soon as I can dig him out of my sock drawer. **

**Ps. Heres the link that I did for the pic in ch 7 cuz I think the old link wont work anymore, and theres another link for a new Hiei pic that I did that you can all enjoy. Just remove the spaces. **

**Thanks a bunch to those who are still reading this fic!!!!**

http: www. fanart-central.net /pictures.php?pid=68256

**http: www. fanart-central.net/pictures.php?pid=80043**


	9. Proposition

**Circumstance**

**Ch 9: Proposition**

By: kikyiou666

**Authors note: **Im baaack! Im so sorry for the extreme hiatus in between updates, but I had a thing called a complicated life going on and I was without computer access to an extreme degree. But I have now resumed working on this little ficcie, so dont worry, I wont let it die.

Extreme thanks to those who have been encouraging and reviewing even though I have been gone, and special thanks goes to Rose-chan, aka Buffybot76, for her constant nagging er I mean reminders :) and for her willingness to beta read the little drabble.

So please read, review, pollute your minds!

**Disclaimer: **Do I really have to say it again? No, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, I did not write this story to make money off of it and if you bother me one more time I'm going to send you spam. Lots of it.

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Keiko continued to struggle against the Youko demon that now held her imprisoned against his body. He was obviously stronger than her, so her efforts had almost no effect on his advances.

_What was going on? Why had Kurama suddenly changed into his Demon self, and why isYouko acting like this?_

Even though Keiko felt fear in her current situation, she still had enough presence of mind to realize that something was _severely_ wrong with Kurama. There had to be reason that he would be acting this way all of the sudden and Keiko had a sinking feeling that she had something to do with it.

Suddenly, Youko slipped a clawed hand up her bare inner thigh and Keiko yelped in surprised, panicking.

"Kurama! Stop it-Please! What is wrong with you!"

More and more frantically, she continued to struggle against Youko, pleading with him as well as his human half to stop, but the fox demon did not seem as though he were able to hear her at all.

Kurama had been desperately searching the barrier that Youko had thrown up against him, trying to find a weakness to break through when he heard Keiko's cry and realized what it was that Youko intended to do. Alarm filled the normally calm Shuichi. He didn't have time to waste, he needed to get through to Youko NOW!

Focusing all of his energy and will, Kurama trained it on a single spot on the barrier and sent a single thought directed at it.

_'Stop it, Youko...you don't really want to do this...STOP!_

Over and over Kurama reinforced this one thought to his other half, hammering away at the mental block before him. Soon the wall began to corrode and Kurama redoubled his efforts, making the tiny hole in front of him grow.

_'LISTEN TO ME!'_

With that one final thought, Kurama put everything he had behind it and slammed it through the barrier, causing it to disintegrate completely. Suddenly Kurama was surrounded by a heat filled lust pounding on him from all sides. He could feel Youko immersed deeply in it and he quickly realized with a dawning horror that he was beginning to sink into it as well. It rushed through his senses, making him dizzy and breathless. Struggling through the haze, Kurama could feel Youko retreat deep within his conscious as he began to drown.

_'No...I won't...I won't do this..."_I WON'T!"

With a burst of strength, Kurama physically threw himself away from Keiko, slamming into the medical cabinet behind him just as the door to his left burst open and a panicked Koenma came crashing through.

_Keiko...was she ok?... _A little disoriented, Kurama worriedly turned his attention to the girl in front of him. She was still sitting on the bed, clutching Hiei's cloak around her, her large sienna eyes gazing terrified at him. For a moment, Kurama felt unbelievable shame and remorse wash through him...until he realized that it wasn't him she was staring at.

"HIEI, DON'T!" Koenma shouted somewhere to the left of him. Perplexed, Kurama started to turn his head in Koenma's direction only to come to a very sudden and very disturbing realization.

What could only be the cold steel of Hiei's katana was now being pressed into the vulnerable flesh of Kurama's throat.

_'What, Hiei is still here! I didn't even realize that he had come in with Koenma!'_

"Hiei..." Kurama started hoarsely, trying to explain, but the pressure of the blade increased slightly, effectively silencing the kitsune's explanation. Hiei didn't say anything, and Kurama couldn't see him with his peripheral vision. His head was slowly clearing, but Kurama didn't dare move, intuitively sensing that he was in real danger from the Fire Apparition.

_'So one of the two scents that Youko had found on Keiko...must have been Hiei's.' _Kurama concluded. It was extremely hard to believe, but the increasingly uncharacteristic behavior that Hiei was displaying left little doubt in the kitsune's mind

"Hiei, please, don't hurt Kurama-kun!" Keiko pleaded, slowly moving closer to the two demons.

At the sight of her moving towards him, Kurama's mind abruptly went into hyper focus as realization dawned on him. Uncaring of Hiei's possible reaction, Kurama tried to make Keiko understand. "Keiko, don't come any closer to any of us!" He yelled forcefully, his tone holding a hint of desperation that was so unlike him.

Instantly she stilled; obviously stunned by the kitsune's outburst that she keep her distance. Kurama could see pain and a dawning horror enter her eyes and his earlier suspicion was confirmed.

_'She knows...she knows there is something wrong...but how much does she know'? _He wondered.

But Kurama's thought process was quickly interrupted, his verbal outburst having provoked the oddly infuriated Fire Demon to increase the blades' pressure against his throat, gently slicing through the first few layers of skin. Kurama knew disturbingly well the control that Hiei had over his preferred weapon, and so knew that the only reason Hiei did not go further was by his own choice.

For now anyway...

"Hiei, STOP IT! Kurama is your friend!" Keiko yelled desperately, but thankfully made no move to come closer.

_Friend..._even though it was odd to hear it spoken aloud, over years of working along side each other in battle, trusting the each other with their lives...it had become the truth. Kurama knew that the aloof fire aparition had always held a certain amount of respect for him, and Kurama had felt the same.

But it was obvious, for reasons still not entirely clear to the red head, that at that particular moment that didn't really matter to Hiei.

He would surely kill him if Kurama gave him anymore reason.

"Keiko, don't come any closer to any of us!...

Kurama's words instantly halted any attempt that Keiko would have made to come between the two demons as a sickening feeling dropped through her like a heavy stone. The look in the kitsune's eyes was enough to tell her what she had been most afraid of.

There was something definitely wrong with her...and everything that had happened since the Doctor had injected her was somehow _her fault._

For some reason Keiko's eyes darted back to Hiei's face and she felt real fear for Kurama's safety course through her. Hiei's expression was deadly calm, no emotion staining his face...but His eyes...there was a bloodlust in them so strong that it was a wonder he had not killed his friend yet.

Trying to keep her voice steady amidst her fear, Keiko pleaded with Hiei. "Hiei, _look at me,_ please." For a few painful heartbeats, she thought he hadn't heard her or worse, was going to ignore her, but then his eyes slowly shifted to hers. Locking onto his crimson gaze with her own warm one, Keiko concentrated everything she had into presenting a feeling of calm to the unstable koorime. "It's alright Hiei, nothing happened. It was an accident. You don't want to hurt Kurama, it wasn't his fault, you know that."

Even as she said it the truth of the words sank every deeper into her heart. Swallowing hard, pushed the thought aside and focused all of her attention on Hiei, willing him to believe that she was telling the truth. The indecipherable rage in his eyes never changed, so Keiko was slightly surprised when she felt him touch her consciousness with his own. It was like being wrapped in a warm blanket of energy, and when he spoke a hum of that taut energy passed through her. _'Did he touch you_?'

Imperceptibly she shook her head even as she responded mentally. "No. He came to on his own. I'm alright, he didn't hurt me and I know that he didn't mean to do what he did. Please put down your sword, Hiei...Kurama is your friend." Not really sure if it would work or not, Keiko tried to reinforce her words with soothing energy, hoping to calm him down. She couldn't explain why, but the need to reassure the fire demon was almost as strong as the need to save her friend. She didn't examine why she was doing it, or why she even needed to do it, only that she did.

At the other end of the connection Keiko could feel the chaotic thoughts begin to settle and ease. This reaffirmed Keiko's action and she reinforced it by opening up more of herself to the fire demon. Never taking her eyes from his, Keiko watched as their stormy depths slowly began to clear and return back to their normal brilliancy.

_Funny...I've never noticed just how beautiful his eyes really are before..._ a stray thought passed through her mind before she could stop it. Immediately she felt when Hiei heard it and panicked that he would become angry with her, she pulled back from their mental link.

Hiei continued to look at her for a long hard moment, and Keiko would have blushed if it weren't for the fact that Hiei still had his blade pressed against Kurama's throat. But then she sighed in relief as the weapon was abruptly removed and Hiei stepped away from Kurama to go stand at the wall opposite to Keiko's bed.

Silently he folded his arms against his chest and lowered his head as he closed his eyes. If anything, it almost looked like he was ignoring them all, and Keiko was dumbfounded in the sudden change in attitude. Grateful that there wasn't any immediate threat of bloodshed, Keiko, looked back at Kurama to see if he was ok. He was bleeding slightly on one side of the neck, and again she started to move to help him before he imperceptible shook his head.

Grief welled through her, and Keiko couldn't take looking into the kitsune's eyes any longer.

Kurama watches sadly as Keiko lowered her head in pain at his refusal for assistance. He could feel the small trickle of blood run down his neck and reached up to stop the flow with his hand. It was minor- especially compared to what it could have been.

"What in Kami's name is going on?" Koenma asked worriedly.

Coming to a quick decision, Kurama tilted his head slightly towards Koenma. " I apologize Koenma-sama, but I am afraid that in light of the present circumstances, I am going to have to ask you to leave for now. There is some rather personal information that I must share with Keiko-san, and I am sure that the fewer people who have to be aware of it, the better. Of course, you needn't worry about her safety, everything is fine now."

Koenma was visibly bristling at being the only one asked to leave. He still didn't have all of the knowledge of what was going on and he absolutely detested being out of the loop. But he also had an idea of what kind of news Keiko was about to receive, if it was true as it seemed to be that she was now a fire apparition. Even though he wanted to be there for his friend, he wasn't dense enough not to know that she really wouldn't want him there when she learned everything that her new life would entail.

_But that still leaves Kurama and Hiei here with her._...

Glancing at the only minutes ago unstable Demons, Koenma decided that the danger had seemed to pass. Shaking his head a little in pity, Koenma turned to leave the room.

Kurama sighed as he slumped down onto a stool in front of the medical cabinet. This was going to take a while...

"This is all my fault, isn't it..." The quiet statement had come from Keiko, who now sat dejectedly as she stared at her hands.

Kurama's heart went out to the girl whom he had called friend for a good many years. It didn't seem right that he add anymore pain to the suffering she had endured that night. _Especially from myself 'Ku_rama inwardly winced. '_However...if we are to help her at all, as well as keep her safe...Keiko needs to know the truth." _His decision made, Kurama sat up straight and focused on his friend. "Keiko, there is something I think you should know."

"The doctor that held you captive turned you into a demon, that much you already know, correct? But do you have any idea what demon he awoke in you?"

Keiko shook her head silently and Kurama continued. "You happen to be a Fire Apparition now, like Hiei, and yet unlike him. You see, females of Hiei's kind are very rare and very unique, because they aren't born very often, only every hundred years or so. But that isn't why they are unique..." Here Kurama paused, not wanting to reveal the next piece of information with the incident with Youko still so fresh, but not having much of a choice he soldiered on. "They are unique because of two things. As you can probably guess, a Fire Apparition's body temperature burns hotter than that of a normal human or even that of a normal demon. Their internal temperature can reach scalding heights without using any powers. Because of this, the natural pheromones that all females create, human and demon alike, are amplified by the heat."

Here Kurama was forced to look down, no longer able to hold her increasingly stunned gaze." You're an incredibly intelligent girl Keiko-san. I'm sure you know what pheromones are and what they do. They are an organism's natural tool for attracting a mate... They are basically used as an aphrodisiacs If any male demon comes close enough to take in a large amount of your scent, it would usually cause them to go into a kind of...heat..."

"...and become uncontrollable in some cases..." He whispered, looking up into her warm sienna eyes, his own emerald ones burning with shame. "When I was examining you, I knew that you had withheld a large amount of information about your capture and rescue. So I decided to use Youko's sense of smell, since mine is so in-effective in this form, to determine what type of demon you are. Unfortunately, when he got close and examined your scent...it...caught him off guard. But even that should not be enough to cause a demon like Youko to lose control. I believe that the incredible strain the new change has wreaked on your body is causing you to go into heat, like a demon female would experience. Your new demon body is trying to make up for lost time and I believe that it is forcing you into a early heat, which would cause the pheromones in your scent to increase even more."

Keiko's eyes had gone wide, her lower lip faintly trembling as she obviously struggled to cope with this devastating information. Kurama pressed on, wanting to get through everything as quick as possible.

" Female Fire apparitions are rare for another reason. They are usually found and sold into slavery as sex slaves. Youko found the mark of possession given to you by another Fire Demon. It would make sense that it would be a male Fire apparition that would try to buy you, because if he were to successfully impregnate you, then your offspring would most likely be incredibly strong. Because it would be from a pure line, which is rarely seen with this particular kind of demon, the child would possess the full capabilities of using their powers."

At the mention of the mark Keiko visibly paled and Hiei slowly opened his eyes to look at her. Watching from the corner of his eye, Kurama wondered exactly what happened between the two of them. Hiei was watching her reactions with veiled scrutiny, but Kurama could see it.

Her voice choked, Keiko spoke. "You said that he gave me the first mark...does that mean that there are more?" Her voice held an underlying tone of fear and she visibly clenched her hands together.

"Yes. There are two marks that a Male demon would bestow on a Female that he intended to mate with for life. The first one is caused by a bite at the juncture of the neck. This is a mark of intention, given before you are actually mated, which is when the second mark is given. When a demon marks you the first time, his scent can be found where the mark was given, essentially warning off other male demons. It is possible to be given the first mark by more than one Male demon, but not the second one. That one is received during the first mating, and it acts as a seal that literally binds you to your mate for life, emotionally as well as psychically."

When he had mentioned the second mark and the lifetime bond, he could have sworn that Keiko was going to be sick. Her already pale face drained a couple of more shades and her eyes took on a haunted look.

For the first time since his transgression, Kurama felt a surge of anger towards the one that had done this to her. Anger at what they had done to her, and what they were forcing him to do...

Keeping his voice calm beneath his ever present indifferent front, Kurama finished what he had to tell her. "Keiko, I mentioned before that you are going into an early heat. This means that ALL male demons, if they get within a close enough range to smell your scent, will come after you aggressively. You are going to need constant protection. Normally, we would just keep you here, but the palace is an office, not a hideout, and with the inevitable return of the demon who bought you, I believe it would be wise for you to hide somewhere else...with Hiei as your guard."

Crimson Eyes immediately locked with emerald ones. Kurama had been expecting Hiei to protest, but instead there was an odd expression in his eyes. He could have sworn that he seen a flash of possession in their crimson depths. The Koorime stared at Kurama closely, almost as if he were trying to find the real reason behind Kurama's suggestion. But Kurama had centuries of practice guarding his thoughts and soon Hiei released his stare with a dissatisfied "Hn." The silence following his words was heavy enough to suffocate in.

"Even though he is also one of your kind, and therefore more susceptible, his mothers tear gem holds incredible calming powers which I believe makes him the best candidate for keeping you safe until you come out of your heat. Hopefully, by then, we can come up with an acceptable strategy for what to do next. Now, you have been through a tremendous amount today Keiko...get some rest. I will have Ayame sent to the room for anything that you need. You and Hiei will probably leave in the next few hours, and I believe it best if none of us know where the two of you are going."

With that Kurama silently got up to leave, not wanting to force his presence on her anymore than necessary. He could feel Hiei's eyes on his back, still watching him for any signs that Youko would return, which only caused the anger and self loathing in Kurama to burn even hotter.

"Kurama-kun?"

Slightly surprised that she had called to him as well as the use of kun on his name, Kurama turned back questioningly towards Keiko.

Her face was still pale, but there was an odd kindness and resolve resting on her features. "It wasn't your fault, or Youko's. I know that no part of you would ever willingly hurt me, Kurama-chan. I am sorry for causing you to do something that you hate." Tears welled up in her eyes, the light in them dancing before they slipped gently down her face.

He couldn't respond, but quickly exited the room and down the hall, his hands clenched at his sides, the image of her trusting eyes burned into his mind. Forcing himself to walk at a normal pace, Kurama turned the corner and entered into a room that led to a large balcony. He quickly walked up to the railing, deeply inhaling the fresh night air as he closed his eyes and tried to dispel the guilt that threatened to well up inside him.

There was no other way...he had to do it. It was for her safety...and even if she found out and hated him for it, it didn't matter. What mattered was keeping her alive...even if he had to sacrifice her purity to do it.

Letting age old reason and ruthless calculations take over the feelings that were making him sick, Kurama waited. It was the only way that he had survived this long, to cast aside personal feelings and look at the cold equation at hand.

But he couldn't be the one to do it...It had to be Hiei. He would fight it of course, but Kurama would not allow the Fire Apparitions denial.

So he waited.

Keiko watched dejectedly as Kurama quickly left the room, obviously eager to distance himself from her.

_Oh Kami, what have I become? Now Kurama will never be able to look at me the same way again._

How many more friends would she alienate because of this? Would she ever really be able to go back to the way things were?

Wiping the tears from her face, Keiko suddenly became aware of the fact that Hiei was no longer in the room either. Looking around, she noticed the small open window on the adjacent wall where he had been standing. Rising from her place on the bed, Keiko quickly walked over to the window and looked out into the night sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Fire Demon. Seeing nothing but the endless landscape of the Reikai, Keiko suddenly felt more alone than she ever had in her entire life.

Turning away from the window, Keiko made her way back over to the bed and snuggled underneath the covers. The exhaustion that she had somehow kept at bay seemed to wash over her all at once and Keiko felt her eyes begin to drop. Her mind felt numb from all of the information she had been forced to digest, but even as she was on the brink of sleep Keiko held on to an image of crimson eyes...

Hiei silently left his place by the Keiko's bed as he heard the approach of the ferry girl Ayame. For some reason, he was hesitant to leave her alone until he knew that she was safe. Giving one last glance at the sleeping girl, he walked through the office door and made his way down the hall.

He walked with purpose, his steps sure of where to go until he came upon the room where Kurama was waiting for him.

Silently he approached Kurama from behind, knowing that the kitsune had already sensed his presence. He could still feel the faint bloodlust that had gripped him before, gnawing at his control.

For a moment neither of them said anything, a new tension that had never existed before now hummed with new life between them. Kurama's voice, cold and guarded, broke the silence.

"You know what needs to be done...if she is to stay relatively unharmed..."

Hiei remained silent. He knew the part of the explanation that Kurama had left out when he had spoken to Keiko. He knew what the kitsune was referring to-it just wasn't an option. For him or anyone else.

The kitsune, however, wasn't finished.

"I know that you can smell it too...she's going to go into heat. You know what's going to happen if that goes unchecked. Her scent needs to be diluted and you know there is only one way to do that."

Unwanted images flashed through Hiei's mind of Youko on top of Keiko and he felt his earlier bloodlust begin to rise once more. His control had been shaken too many times in one night, and was dangerous in his unstable condition. Barely concealing the venom in his voice, Hiei said. "So I suppose that your volunteering to pickup where you left off."

The redhead turned and regarded Hiei with a calculating expression. "Actually, I think you should do it."

Hiei's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What?"

Unperturbed, Kurama continued. "I found your scent on her ...I know you were trying to cover the other demon's mark. I also know that you have been avoiding her since she took care of you that night a year ago after the mission with Kaishin. At first I thought that it was because you were disgusted with the fact that you were reduced to needing help from a human, and that you avoided her because it was a stain on your pride. I'm sure that was part of it...but that wasn't the real reason, was it Hiei."

Suspicion danced along Hiei's skin even as he felt surge of satisfaction. So the kitsune had found his scent, good. Even so, He did not like where this was going.

"You kept it hidden really well...even I did not realize the truth until now. But after the display before, and the evidence of your scent, I know your secret Hiei."

The Koorime's eyes flashed with deadly fire but he remained silent. Even though his actions as of late had begun to betray him, the kitsune was delving too deep, deeper than Hiei even permitted himself to go and it was wearing his patience thin. Even so it was pointless to try and lie about it now. The kitsune knew, and he would exploit it ruthlessly to get what he wanted.

"You can deny it all you want to me, her and even yourself. But if you don't agree, then _I _will. At least I can make sure that she enjoys it, unlike other demons who would only use her." Kurama said as he began to walk towards the exit.

That did it.

The last thread on Hiei's precious control snapped, and Hiei was barely aware of putting his fist through the wall next to him. Luckily he had subconsciously held back his demon energy so he hadn't taken out the entire wall with that punch. No, he had only created a hole the size of a manhole. Curiously, he watched as a trickle of blood began a winding path down his forearm before looking back at Kurama. The kitsune didn't seem the least bit surprised, but continued walking after a moment, his parting message echoing in Hiei's ears.

"Your choice, Hiei. Either you take her... or I will."

Take her...

Even as the thought angered him, he felt lust heat his blood. He doubted that even the fox with his disturbingly accurate insight realized just how tempting that thought really was. He had been denying for a year that he wanted her, even to himself, and now images of her beneath him were running rampantly through his mind. All he had to do was close his eyes for a brief moment and he could feel and taste her once more. It made him hot.

He hated her for that. He had hated her for a year, despising the effect she had on him. It was her fault that he now had to contend with this constant weakness and it was driving him insane.

The problem was that now he had the perfect opportunity to get exactly what he had been denying he wanted-and the perfect excuse.

_"I know that you can smell it too...she's going to go into heat. You know what's going to happen if that goes unchecked. Her scent needs to be diluted and you know there is only one way to do that."_

Oh yes, he knew. When a female went into heat, her scent became like a homing beacon for the surrounding male demons in the area to use to find and claim her. Once she was taken, however, the scent became weaker and weaker the more she had sex.

He could definitely make sure that her scent was practically non-existent. But he wouldn't be gentle, he couldn't be when he didn't know how. Even after everything that had happened, the dark part that ruled over him still wanted to take her hard until she was panting and screaming.

Hiei shook his head angrily as he stared at the hole he had made in the wall. He may be a bastard, but his code wouldn't permit him to deceive her into his bed. He wanted her there willingly. He had to have her there willingly. He may be a cold blooded killer, but he was no slaver and he would never force her into his bed.

_But she was more than willing earlier..._

Hiei shook off that thought. It was because she was too much of a goddamn innocent that she hadn't even known how to control herself. That thought left a bitter taste in Hiei's mouth but he forced himself to face that possibility. The possibility that what had happened in the Makai forest had been entirely because of her new demon blood and not because she actually desired him. Hiei snorted. No, she was probably still in love with that idiot detective Yusuke, even though he was constantly abandoning her for the Makai

_Either you take her...or I will."_

The kitsune's threat hung over him and Hiei growled in frustration. He hated being backed into a corner and having control over the situation taken away. But the fact still remained that if Hiei didn't agree to it, then Kurama would take over. Hiei knew enough to know when the kitsune was serious and Hiei felt the urge put his katana through the damn fox's throat.

Needing to release some energy, Hiei pushed himself from the balcony and began running at breakneck speeds through the Makai. He needed to clear his mind if he was going to make this decision and he couldn't do that when lust and rage alternately pounded through him. He ran as if the hounds of hell were chasing him-and perhaps they were.

After what felt like hours, Hiei found himself outside a familiar window, breathing hard from his exertions, Hiei just stared. The window was almost beckoning; the curtains inside fluttered with the breeze and Hiei felt himself drawn to it. Silently he scaled the tree next it and landed on the window sill.

She was dreaming. Creeping over to the side of her bed, Hiei watched in fascination as she moaned softly in her sleep. His gaze was locked on her and he couldn't seem to tear it away. The moonlight that came in hit her face just right, casting her skin with a pearly glow. Her hair fanned out around bare shoulders and her chest rose and fell as she writhed gently under the blankets. The musky scent of her arousal drifted up to him and he felt himself harden painfully at the same time that jealousy wracked through him.

Who was she dreaming of? Was it him that was giving her pleasure? Touching her where she begged to be touched, fulfilling dark fantasies that she only allowed herself in dreams? Or was it Kurama or even Yusuke? Anger flared brightly as reason fled. He had to know. For a brief insane moment, he considered using the Jagan to find out, but quickly discarded that thought. Invading her mind without permission was a revolting idea and he was disgusted with himself for that. Somehow her mere presence seemed to affect his reason and it was extremely taxing. Briefly, he remembered their short-lived telepathic link. She had done everything in her power to dampen that rage that had consumed him at the thought of Youko taking her and its effect had surprised him. Even more surprising was the stray thought that had escaped before she had cut off the link.

But did that really mean anything?

Caught in an internal struggle as he watched the object of his darkest desires caught in a dream of pleasure, the answer suddenly became clear to him. It didn't matter if she was dreaming of someone else right now, or even if she still loved the detective. He would _make _her want him just as much as he wanted her. Soon, she would be dreaming about him even if she wasn't now, he would make sure of that. He didn't want or need her affection, but he would repay her for all the sleepless nights filled with an unbearable aching that she had given him.

Tilting his head to the side, Hiei rested on the window sill and shamelessly watched her, a new predatory glint shining in his eyes.

Hiei now had his answer for the kitsune.

He would make Keiko his.

**lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll**

**Authors post note**: When I began writing this story, I didn't know that Yusuke's transformation from human to demon was because of the Adivism of the Mazoku. But if you were confused in any way of what exactly had happened to Keiko, that's essentially it, except for the doctor forced the change instead of her death. So, does this mean that since my idea parallels' theirs, that great minds think alike? Don't answer that:P

Expect an extremely hard lime in the next chappie guys!


	10. Chapter 10

_**CHAPTER 10**_

_Choices in life are rarely pure, but to understand the middle ground it is helpful to imagine the extremes.  
Peter Berger, Sociologist _

When Riosuke re-entered the compound several hours after the assault and rescue, to the casual observer he might have seemed calm and unaffected, the very picture of the cold uncaring warrior. But inside, he was seething with rage as he systematically sifted through all of the Youkai scents as he searched the compound. All of the guards were gone, as well as the doctor and his lackey Hokin.

But most importantly, _she _was gone as well...and she hadn't left alone.

Riosuke recognized that scent, and he knew without a doubt that that little bastard Hiei had intended it that way. He would have wanted Riosuke to know that he took her, and even for a lower class like him it wouldn't take long for him to realize just what it was that he had in his possession.

Anger boiled over to the surface. 'That bastard, she's _MINE!" _

Clenching his hands, Riosuke balled up his fist and with a roar of utter fury collected his demon energy and blasted through the nearest wall. The energy that made up that blast glowed a fiery scarlet as it burned its way through all of the succeeding walls until it was outside the building and plowing its way through the Forrest.

Breathing sharply, Riosuke watched with satisfaction as the dying red blast light up the trees like fire in the rising sun.

'_Wait, its dawn now...her transformation should be nearly complete...and the mark I gave her has now had a few hours to solidify the bond"_

With a cruel smile forming on his lips, the Fire Demon straightened to his full height and began to calmly walk out of the abandoned compound.

It didn't matter that his mate was in the company of that little runt, Hiei had distaste for humans that rivaled his own and wouldn't touch her even in her new state.

Besides, it was about time to show his _mate_ just how much she already belonged to him...

Keiko was dreaming again...she knew this as she knew that the world was good and Yusuke would always save her.

But right now the world wasn't good...because Yusuke hadn't been there.

Maybe that's why, as she leaned back against the cool rocks of the hot spring, and deliberately enjoyed the sensually lazy feeling the heated water brought to her body, the she knew it was real even though it was a dream.

And she wasn't alone..._he _was there with her. But this was a dream...and no one would know but her, so it didn't matter.

So that's why she watched him quietly as he silently came through the water to rest in front of her, his eyes holding hers steadily. That's why when he gently brushed him self against her, she sighed softly and pushed back, enjoying the sensation. He didn't say anything, but the approving look on his face as he wrapped his arms around her waste made her hear skip a beat.

Keiko eyes drifted closed as he began to nuzzle and kiss a line from her collarbone up her neck.

Softly, almost so that she couldn't even her she Keiko asked "Why are you here with me."

He just paused and nipped at her ear admonishingly.

Because you want me to be..." He said simply, before sliding a hand over her stomach in slippery trails.

Keiko shivered and lifted one of her legs to wrap around his waist.

"But that can't be true can it...your not the one I am supposed to see..."

A hand slide down over her bottom and squeezed.

"Then why am I here?"

Keiko brought her own hand up and began to make light trails down his navel.

"I don't know"

He hissed slightly under his breath when she went a little too far, but he didn't tell her to stop.

"Maybe not...but you can't hide forever." he said, bringing his hand to the front and oh so slowly slipping it between...

Keiko arched into the touch, burying her face into his neck, breathing in his scent that was fast becoming a drug to her.

"What about you. Why do you come?"

There was an interesting flick of fingers and suddenly Keiko couldn't talk for a moment.

"I don't know."

His voice mocked her, and she knew she deserved it, but maybe later she would play by the rules. Gripping his shoulders, Keiko bit down gently on the wet skin.

"You can't hide forever you know." She countered.

There was a long pause, and she was sure that he wasn't going to answer her. He never answered her.

"I know." His voice said softly as he moved his mouth to place a kiss on her cheek.

Suddenly, in the space of an instant, Keiko felt a rush of wind, although nothing moved, but it moved through her.

Confused she hugged him to her, safe and secure, but suddenly filled with a feeling of being exposed.

"You know that you couldn't hide forever. I will always find you"

Keiko frowned. His voice sounded strange...

_"Because little one, you're already mine and you always will be..."_

The voice was seductive and purred in her ear, and her body responded as it should...but there was something, _wrong _in it. Attempting to draw back to see his face again, Keiko was firmly held against the rocks so that she could not move or struggle. The voice chuckled softly and suddenly Keiko could feel the cold seeping into her being at the sound.

_No...no. no no no no no NO!'_

_The man that was now holding her captive only nuzzled her neck as he continued. "Don't you see, your body will always recognize me, because I have already made you mine. Soon, I will take you back and then you will never be able to escape. So why not give in, my little firefly...you would be surprised at some of the things you would enjoy..." _

_Keiko's entire being seemed to cry out in anguish even as her voice couldn't and she was thankfully rewarded when everything went black with only the sounds of the screams she couldn't voice ringing in her ears. _

Keiko woke shaking, dripping in sweat and absolutely terrified .A scream literally tore its way through her throat and Keiko could feel something rip as the taste of blood filled the back of her mouth. Gagging and trying desperately not to choke, Keiko struggled to regulate her breathing. Which was becoming more and more irregular and ragged.. Her whole bodily felt as though it were burning up from the inside, and as each breath ripped its way out Keiko could feel it chafe the inside of her throat. Clumsily Keiko moved her legs over the side of the bed and tried to push herself up, but she instead collapsed as the room swam sheer vertigo overtook her. Her labored breathing coming even faster now, Keiko focused her attention on the window on the far side of the room, and the cool breeze coming through it. Her vision was blurry around the edges, and the window kept going in and out of focus.

Kami...Why...'

Willing herself to focus, Keiko raised herself onto shaking arms, straining to hold her unsteady weight.

'I feel...so weak...' The thought through made its way through her mind like a message on muted volume.

After what felt like an eternity she was able to raise one leg...and then the other, swaying dangerously on her feet as she struggled to make out which direction the window was in. Her vision was so out of focus now that she could only large wavering shapes. Keiko clenched her eyes shut against the offending confusion, but then she felt a small draft of cool air kiss her burning skin and she turned to it as if it were her lifeline. Achingly slow, Keiko tried to open her eyes but found that her lids felt like weights that she could only lift up about half way.

Any sound was drowned out as the sound of Keiko's heart beat filled her ears. To her, even though she could feel her heart beating fast and hard within her chest, her mind was surrounded with a slow, steady drumming of a different beat. Using that as her guide, Keiko forced her legs to pick themselves up and move forward with each thrum of the beat.

This went on for several beats, and Keiko idly wondered if it had taken her all day to take 3 small steps, because the light was suddenly gone. Achingly, Keiko lifted her head to see where the light had gone to, but all she saw were dark fuzzy shapes. The beat in her ears was louder now, and Keiko could feel it trying to change the monster inside her chest, trying to chain it and force it to calm. Frowning, Keiko forced her head up higher and higher until the shapes changed and moved, but still she couldn't see what it was that blocked out the light. Then she felt the floor drop from under her as she fell back, eternally slow and weightless as the darkness consumed her and the beat kept marching on.

Hiei cradled Keiko unconscious in his arms. He had felt her energy go out of control from half a wing away and he sped to her room without thinking. He had found her struggling to stay standing and drenched with sweat as she tried to walk toward the open window he himself had been sitting in only a few hours ago. He had seen her begin to fall and deftly caught her so that she would not hit the floor.

There was something that felt suspiciously like fear as he felt her body temperature and then her heart beat. It was as though her body was trying to send itself into shock. Her breathing was raspy and she was having trouble drawing breath. There were beads of perspiration on her face that were beginning to evaporate into tendrils of steam.

_'Damnit, she's going to start boiling her own blood from the inside if she doesn't cool down!_

Scowling, he swiftly picked up her burning body and took her to the bathroom to place her inside the tub, not even bothering to take off her clothes. He ran luke warm water to help calm her temperature externally, but as soon as the water touched her body it began to steam as well. Hiei turned the temperature down a little more, bit didn't dare do much otherwise her body might go into shock and not recover. Drawing his tear Gem over his head, Hiei carefully placed it around her neck. He knew that what ever was happening had to do with her forced transformation, and at the moment her body was literally trying to kill itself. Kneeling over her so that their faces were nearly touching, Hiei opened his Jagan and forced a mental link with Keiko. Immediately bypassing the delirious flashes of her last thoughts, Hiei immediately went into the deepest parts of her subconscious. Finding the erratic pounding of her heart beat, Hiei instead concentrated on his own steady one, trying to force Keiko's to slow and follow his in time.

At first her body refused, instead skipping slightly in rejection, forcing Hiei to mentally grit his teeth to keep his frustration down and his heart rate steady. Without breaking his link, Hiei placed his right hand onto his sisters tear gem to increase the connection.

'Come_ on Keiko...it's not like you to quit and you know it! Will you be a coward or will you fight!_

He could feel his message resonate within her psyche, and slowly he could sense her mind and finally her body beginning to react to it. If he had been anybody else, he would have breathed a sigh of relief. But he wasn't, so he just remained stoic and intent as her heart began to slow and her temperature began return to normal.

The only warning he had was when her mind suddenly brightened and her thoughts came forward in a great rush, but even he wasn't quick enough to move out of his position before Keiko lazily opened her eyes a mere inch from his. Slightly stunned, both parties could on stare unspeaking for several moments. Her warm breath softly fanning his face, Hiei couldn't tear himself away from large honey eyes that held sparks of gold and Hiei found something deeply alluring in their honest depths, something that he had discovered for the first time one rainy night a long time ago... but there was now something new there, something that had not been there before. Now, as she gazed back at him, there was an unspoken trust, a softness to her gaze that she had never given anyone but Yusuke, and he had never received from but Yukina.

It was that look of utter trust that was his undoing.

Haltingly and of its own volition, Hiei's face lowered to her lips, his eyes never leaving hers as they unknowingly asked for permission. Paused a hairsbreadth form her skin. Hiei could feel her lower lip tremble slightly, but still he would not take his eyes from hers. He wasn't thinking at the moment, he was driven by pure feeling, not something he ever did, and right then everything was telling him that he_ had _to have her permission. Her eyes widened a little, and a stone fell in his stomach as he thought she would reject him, but then they fluttered closed and she pressed her soft lips against his. Hiei waited for the briefest of moments, waited for the dream to end and cold reality to come back...but then he couldn't wait for reality and he was kissing her back, kissing her with a feeling he didn't know, something that only came around when she was near. It was something that confused, infuriated and drove him to sleepless nights. This nameless aching that filled his chest with every moan, and press of her lips. The way she deliciously shivered as he nipped and licked at her mouth, craving entrance and she gave it freely, her mouth opening eagerly under his own. Slowly, deliberately he ran his tongue across hers, tasting her fully for the first time.

It was just has he imagined it would be. She was warm and practically tasted like honey, and he drank her in as though he were starving for what ever it was that only she could offer.

'_Perhaps I am...'_

His thoughts were muted and distant, and he didn't even bother to curb them as he gently fisted her hair and tilted her face up to allow him deeper access. It only mattered that he took in every gasp and moan, drank in every last taste of her as if it were his one and only chance.

Because it probably was.

There was the sound of a crashing door and Hiei whipped around Growling, ready to kill whoever had interrupted. A young ferry girl stood just inside the door clutching a bundle of cloth in her arms like a shield.

"Oh! Oh I am so sorry, I di-didnt't meant to Interrrrupt-I-Oh god please don't kill me! I was just-Koenma-sama said- bringing the girl some clothes-here Ill just leave them right here and!"

The poor maid that had given the untimely interruption never finished her sentence as she bolted madly for the door. It was understandable, considering the moment she had walked in Hiei had turned fierce red eyes on her and practically growled, his hand instinctively going for his Katana.

After a few scant moments, Hiei returned to reality and the cold tendrils of regret began to instantly crawl their way through his being. This had been a mistake and he needed to leave now. Silently he stood up and made to leave, not wanting to know what he would now see in her eyes.

"Hiei," she burst out. Hiei turned his head slightly to acknowledge that he was listening, and suddenly Keiko had trouble remembering what she was going to say. "Thank you, Hiei" she managed quietly. He didn't say anything, only turned back and disappeared from her sight.

Keiko sighed and dunked herself under the water. She wasn't entirely clear on what had happened, but she knew that Hiei had saved her...again.

_And that kiss..._

Keiko touched her lips gently, noticing their sensitivity and puffiness from Hiei's kissing.

'Oh god that guy could kiss.'

The thought came unbidden and Keiko couldn't help but blush a little. She had kissed a few other men other then Yusuke, usually just a quick and friendly kiss to thank them for a date, but she had never been kissed liked this before. Yusuke had always just dove right in, dominating her mouth and taking complete control. But Hiei...it had almost seemed like he had been asking for her permission to kiss her, and for a reason she couldn't explain, she had really wanted him to so she had kissed him.

But she hadn't been prepared for the utter feeling she felt in his kiss, the way his mouth had completely dominated her own without feeling oppressive or forced. While she had never thought he wasn't capable of such feelings, she had honestly just never thought about it. The passion she had felt in that kiss though made her rethink her previous assumptions about Hiei's lack of emotion...and his emotions towards her.

Keiko could feel a headache coming on at that thought. Life may be getting more confusing by the moment, but at least she could take bath.

Well, maybe after she removed her clothes.

Later, after she had she taken the longest bath of her life and changed into clothes that were provided for her, Keiko sat down and really thought about her situation.

They say that knowing when a situation is bad is half the battle. When you realize the circumstances, you are able to identify the many different outcomes, both good and bad, and can use it to navigate your way through. But then there are times when a situation is just plain screwed on all angles, and the only choice you are faced with is picking the lesser of all the evils.

Keiko was in such a position.

Faced with her growing innate abilities, as well as desires, something had to be done quickly if she wanted to survive this whole mess relatively unscathed.

The problem was, none she could come up with were good. She couldn't hide forever, for many different reasons. If Riosuke could already reach her through the mating mark, then it would be only so much time until he would find her and make her permanently his. Even if she could have him killed, she needed to know more about him and the situation to better asses her options.

Always research a problem extensively if you are to be informed enough to make the right answer.

Keiko sighed and rubbed her forehead worriedly. That meant that she would have to find Kurama and talk with him before they left.

'That's if he will even see me' she mused. 'But there's no one else who would know more, and after what happened earlier...

Keiko shuddered at the memory of Riosuke inside her mind and resisted the heavy urge to vomit.

_'No, if I want to get through this, I have to know'_

Spying one of the room intercoms the connected with the receptionist desk, Keiko pushed the little white button to speak with the operator. A firm male voice, probably an ogre, came over the speaker.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"Um, this is Keiko Yukimora, I would like to request that Youko Kurama be sent to my room please, I uh, have some questions I need to ask him."

The tone of the other voice didn't change as he said. "One moment please...I have contacted Mr. Kurama; he is on his way to your room now. Will there be anything else?"

Keiko licked her lips and said. "No, um, that will be all, thanks." With that the line died and Keiko was left with a few moments to herself. A little nervous, Keiko kept glancing back and forth between the door and the window outside, fighting the flush the threatened to creep up at the thought of what she needed to ask.

Suddenly, there was a soft rapping at the door, and Keiko gave herself a firm shake and a resolute face as she got up to open it. On the other side stood her friend of many years. And while he looked the same, there was a certain detachment to his eyes that hadn't been there before, at least not with her. This caused Keiko a moment of sadness, but she knew that she did not have much time to get the information that she needed.

"You asked for me, Keiko-sama?" His tone was smooth and polite, friendly even, but she could tell that he was holding himself at a distance from her, both mentally and physically.

'I suppose for now it can't be helped' she thought. Stepping aside in an invitation to enter, Keiko responded. "Yes Kurama-_chan, _I have some questions that I need to ask, and you're the only one I can think have who might be able to answer them."

Nodding slightly. Kurama seated himself in a large armchair, the same one where he had given her the horrible facts the night before. "Alright, what kind of Questions do you have?"

Keiko bit her lip for a moment as she sat herself on the bed." There's something that I need to tell you first. Riosuke, the man who bought me, was able to invade my dreams last night."

Kurama's face turned grave, but he said nothing. In truth, he was not surprised, especially not with the amount of knowledge that he knew about the fire demon. But he also had a feeling what Keiko's question was going to be, and it might give him the little extra edge he needed to make his plan work.

He watched as Keiko took a deep breath before looking him straight in the eye, determination written on her features. "Kurama, I need to know if there is a way that I can block him out of my mind, or even make him unable to give me the second mark." She said this all in a rush, and Kurama realized that this must be a difficult thing to bring up. Keiko was intelligent, and he suspected she already knew part of the answer he was going to give. After a pause, he finally spoke. "I do know of a way...to both questions actually. But you won't like what I have to say Keiko."

Keiko shook her head slightly. "I realize that and I don't care! I just don't want to be that monsters slave!"

Kurama remained stoic. "Alright. The answer to the first question would be to have another demon with a higher psychic ability give you the first mark, and then he would be able to keep Riosuke from entering your mind. The answer to the second question is a little more difficult. The only way to keep Riosuke from mating you, is if you were already mated. You cannot receive the second mark twice. If you wanted to be absolutely safe from him sexually, you would need to become mated to another."

His words hung in the air, loaded with its implications like a ticking bomb and Kurama waited patiently for his words to sink in. The fact the she might possibly be willing to go to extremes to help herself would aid Kurama' plan greatly, but if this knew knowledge scared her enough...he might have just blown them all in his face. But it couldn't be helped. It was in a kitsunes nature to gamble with the odds for the chance of a larger prize, and Kurama was no exception.

"Would it be possible, if I was to become...mated, and the demon didn't want me... to get it reversed? Or would I be tied to him, forever?"

Keiko's hands were gently clutching the fabric of her pants, and her eyes were shadowed as she stared at those hands. Kurama, even though it might not show, felt the deepest sympathy for his friend's plight. It was unfair that a soul such as hers would ever have to go through any of this. But life was never fair, and he was determined to get her through this intact.

"You would remain tied to that demon your whole life, but if he were to not want you, you could spend your life with a human male, but you would not be able to mate any other demon."

"I see." She said softly, and Kurama could almost see her shoulders lift and square slightly and Kurama had to admire her enduring strength.

Rising out of his chair, Kurama walked over to his long time friend and kneeled down to eye level with her, careful to keep the needed distance between them. Expecting him to leave, Keiko looked at him slightly surprised.

" Keiko...the world you are in now has a lot of darkness in it, and the choices you will face in order to survive will be the hardest you have ever had to make...But if you stay strong, if you keep that light and belief in yourself, you will get through this. You will be able to return back to your old life."

Keiko's eyes widened in hope at her friends soft words, but then his countenance turned serious once more.

"Keiko, Riosuke will never give up until he has found you again and made you his. You know that. The only way to escape him his to become either mated or kill him, but you might not have enough time to wait around for the second option. Now, if you want the best way to return back to everything you once had, you need to become mated to someone who will not want to keep a life partner before Riosuke gets his chance. I know this is hard to hear, but is the only way."

With that Kurama grabbed his friends hand and gently squeezed as tears slowly rolled down her face. Releasing her, Kurama rose to his feet and made his way to the door. On his way out, Kurama gave some parting words.

"Take care of yourself Keiko-san. And remember, we often do the unthinkable in times of desperation...but sometimes that's the only thing that allows us to get through so that we may live again."

With that he was gone...

...Leaving Keiko alone with very heavy choice and very little time to make it in.

Hiei sat in a windowsill, one hand clenching and unclenching as he glared at the wall in front of him.

He shouldn't have kissed her. Damnit, he knew better, but at that time he had not been using his brain and now it had cost him.

Because now...now he couldn't go through with it. He couldn't use her. No matter how many different ways he dressed it up and tried to fool himself, he knew deep down that was really what he had intended to do, and that made him no better than Riosuke.

Hiei growled and let his head fall against the windowsill

Interpreting emotions and motives was not his thing, it never had been. The kitsune was far better adept at such mental play, while Hiei preferred facing things head on without delving into little intricacies. He had and honor code, sometimes with rules that even he didn't understand, but he had always lived by it. While he didn't know exactly what it was he felt for her...He knew that he didn't want her to hate him?

'_Hun, even though it might be better for both of us if she did' _

Because he was just as much a danger to her...Maybe even more.

Kurama's threat still hung heavily in his mind, and just thinking about him or anyone else taking her made Hiei's blood boil. But now, for some ungodly reason he couldn't fathom, Hiei didn't want to see that look fade from her eyes.

So now, He had a new weakness. He would do whatever it took to protect Keiko Yukimora from anyone who would use her...even if that himself

Hiei allowed himself a bitter self-deprecating smile.

Hiei closed his eyes and rolled his Mothers tear gem between three fingers '_She doesn't even know...that that's not even the first time I have kissed her..._

"It's the second."

Keiko had been staring at her self in the mirror for the last several minutes. She knew that she would be summoned to leave soon, but she couldn't tear herself away from the image in the mirror.

Her eyes stared back at her, open and honest, and not without a little fear. Her chin, though small, was firm and resolute. She wondered if this would be the last time she would have a look like this, the last time she would ever truly be the Keiko had always had been. She had been through hell in the past twenty-four hours, and she knew that it wasn't over.

No, it wasn't over, especially since she had come to her decision.

Because Hiei and Kurama were right.

Keiko would fight to get her life back...even if she had to give virginity away to do it.

Thinking long and hard after Kurama had left her with her choice, Keiko had known what her only choice would be. The thought of what she would have to do frightened her to death, but she realized that she was with very little options and she would rather risk this than let a monster like Riosuke own her for the rest of her life.

But her plan wasnt going to be easy, not for someone inexperienced as her and as dangerous as him.

She had always known that getting close to Hiei was like approaching a wildfire...

... And now Keiko needed to get close enough to get burned.

**An:** I know that I havn't updated in a year, and there's not much I can say other than life happened, But I hoped you guys enjoyed that at least a little bit. The next chappie should be enticing enough, don't you think? Keiko, Hiei, alone in the makai forest...Kieko attempting to seduce said fire demon- Hiei trying to resist...ooooh the possibilities. And yes, Im going to take full advantage of those possibilities too - Ps. If your reading this a second time, I fixed the errors!


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